MY TURN I BY RANDE VICK How Human Touch Wins
F or years, we’ve heard the same MI retail obituaries: “Ama- zon killed the mom-and-pop shop.” “Brick-and-mortar is dead.” “People just don’t shop in person anymore.” And yet, Barnes & Noble is making a serious comeback after planning 60 new location openings in 2024. Lego stores are packed after adding 24 more stores in the first half of 2025. And Rockstars of Tomorrow is scaling a national performance- based music school to compete with School of Rock. Closer to home, the Gibson Garage in Nashville, Tennessee,
and leaned into being a “third place” outside of home and work. And in music retail, the Gib- son Garage isn’t just a store. It’s a musician’s pilgrimage site. People travel just to Nashville to expe- rience it, post photos and walk away with not just a guitar but a story. YOU DON’T NEED A REMODEL Here are five ways any music retailer can start designing for immersion right now: 1. Create intentional zones. Set up a plug-in corner with vibe lighting. Turn the pedal wall into a gallery. Suggest action. 2. Use lighting and sound stra- tegically. Ditch the fluorescents. Curate playlists that match your audience. Let the environment tell a story. 3. Add a sensory surprise. A signature scent, a handwritten note or a warm greeting. Novelty tells the brain, “This matters.” 4. Let customers feel like artists, not shoppers. Host jam sessions. Run open mics. Make them the main character in their own musical journey. 5. Build rituals. Host weekly acoustic nights and “first guitar” ceremonies for kids. Create tradi- tions customers can anticipate. The truth is online will always win on convenience. But conve- nience doesn’t create memories. In 2026 and beyond, the music retailers who thrive won’t be the ones with the most inventory. They’ll be the ones that make people feel something. MI Rande Vick is the founder of Vick Agency, a neuroscience‑driven brand consultancy special- izing in the music industry and professional services, and author of “NeuroBranding.”
has become a destination where people line up to play, hang out and post about the experience. Indie shops around the country are thriving because they’ve turned themselves into community hubs rather than just storefronts. Why? Because these brands stopped competing on inventory and started building immer- sive experiences. They’re not just selling. They’re staging. They’re engineering emotion. And they’re winning because of it. ONE MOVE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING If I could suggest music retailers do just one thing in 2026 to win bigger, it would be this: Design for immersion. Customers no longer come to your store because it’s the only option. They come if it feels better than shopping online. Immersion is what creates that feel- ing. It’s not just about having an “experience.” It’s
about engaging the senses, triggering emotion and turning a transaction into a memory. THE BRAIN TAGS EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES AS IMPORTANT Our brains don’t record SKUs. They record mo- ments. Neuroscientist Lisa Genova puts it this way: “Emotion tells the brain: remember this.” When something makes us feel excited, in-
“Algorithms will never compete with goosebumps.”
spired or simply seen, the brain releases oxytocin, a neurochemical tied to trust and belonging. Pair that with sensory cues (lighting, sound, texture and even smell) and the brain encodes it as a core memory, not a passing interaction. That’s why algorithms will never compete with goosebumps. WHAT IMMERSION LOOKS LIKE Immersion is what’s making Rockstars of Tomorrow more than just another music school. The company, which now has locations in California, Nevada and Indiana, creates a space that feels like a backstage lounge: velvet couches, deep red walls and mood lighting that whispers, “This is how Ozzy would do it.” This same idea is what brought Barnes & Noble back from the brink. Under new leadership, they stopped being a uniform chain
26 I MUSIC INC. I JANUARY 2026
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