How retailers use life-size hologram displays to show products

Another company's examples, not Metaverse911 projects. Neither the footwear brand nor the mall operator is named in the material we used. We have left out the engagement figures reported for them because we cannot trace them to a named, published source. See our case studies for our own work.

The situation: stores must offer what online cannot

E-commerce has changed what shoppers expect from a store or a mall. Static mannequins, printed windows, banners and flat screens no longer stop people, who walk past them the way they scroll past banner ads. A physical space now needs to create a brand moment that cannot be repeated on a phone.

The two organisations in this page had different goals. A global leader in lifestyle and performance footwear wanted to show what is hidden inside its shoes: memory-foam cushioning, arch support and breathable, lightweight materials. A US mall operator wanted an advertising platform that did more than rotate video ads, one that gave brands interactive 3D experiences and created a new revenue line.

Example 1: a permanent hologram in a flagship store

The footwear brand installed a permanent, life-size hologram display at its Manhattan Beach flagship in Los Angeles. It was not a pop-up or a weekend activation, but an always-on part of the store. The aims were to bring in foot traffic, engage customers with interactive 3D content and feed a simple purchase flow.

Hardware: a life-size volumetric unit built for busy retail floors. It uses light-field technology and high-brightness LED arrays to show photorealistic 3D images that appear to float inside the glass. It is bright enough to stay clear under store lighting and sunlight through the window.

Content: the brand invested in detailed 4K 3D models of its main lines. These are rigged, animated assets, not static images, held in a cloud-based content management system (CMS). The head office marketing team can push updates, change featured shoes by season or stock level, and schedule animations remotely across locations.

The shopper journey has four steps:

• Stop: a bright, floating 3D sneaker catches the eye from across the store.
• Explore: the shoe rotates 360° to show its sole and shape, then an "exploded view" reveals the memory foam, breathable mesh and cushioning layers.
• Interact: a touch screen lets shoppers choose models from a digital catalogue, change colourways and check specs, sizing and pricing.
• Buy: a product-specific QR code sends the shoe to the shopper's phone browser or the brand app, to buy straight away or save to cart.

Example 2: a hologram network across a mall operator's properties

The mall operator installed permanent, life-size hologram displays across many of its premier malls. This was not a pop-up or a single-mall trial. It was built as always-on media infrastructure from the start, with three goals: drive shopper engagement at scale, give brands a 3D medium no one else offered, and open a new advertising revenue stream.

The operator's media division builds detailed 4K 3D models with advertisers in luxury fashion, automotive, consumer electronics and film. They sit in a cloud-based CMS that runs the whole network. The central team pushes updates, changes featured ads by time of day or mall audience, and schedules animations across all sites at once. The CMS also monitors every unit remotely and flags hardware or connection problems.

The shopper journey follows the same pattern as the footwear store. A bright, floating 3D product stops shoppers. A 360° rotation and an exploded view show its features, for example a sports car turning to reveal its drivetrain. A touch overlay lets them switch variants, change colours and check specs and pricing. A campaign-specific QR code on the base sends the offer, coupon or product page to their phone.

Results

Neither organisation has published figures that we can cite, so this section describes the benefits by team without numbers.

• Visual merchandising (footwear): instead of shipping and arranging mannequins and props across many stores, the team launches campaigns from the CMS. Each store can feature different products based on local trends or live stock.
• Store operations (footwear): the hologram works as an always-available digital sales associate, showing how a lacing system works or which materials are waterproof, so staff can focus on fittings and closing sales.
• Media sales (mall): instead of competing on price against many identical flat screens, the team sells an exclusive 3D medium. Central scheduling allows targeted buys, for example a luxury brand taking weekend hours and a film studio buying the network for a Friday premiere.
• Operations (mall): no printed banners, install crews or downtime between campaigns across the properties.
• Marketing and analytics (both): each unit records which products get the most views, how long shoppers engage and how many scan the QR code, so content can be improved and return shown to brand clients.

The measures to track for retail hologram displays are foot traffic near entrances and windows, time spent at the display, conversion on featured items or QR scans, ad revenue per unit compared with flat screens, and savings on props, printing, shipping and overnight installation for seasonal campaigns.

What it means for manufacturers

Many manufactured products share the footwear brand's problem: the features that matter most are inside. Cushioning layers in a shoe are like the internal parts of a pump, a motor or an appliance. A life-size 3D model that rotates, opens into an exploded view and lets people switch variants shows them in seconds, in a showroom, at a dealer or on an exhibition stand. It explains a machine, vehicle or appliance better than a brochure. Mall advertising itself matters less to manufacturers than this way of showing a product.

The rest of the model carries over too: content updated centrally for every location, a touch screen for variants and specs, and a QR code that turns interest into a measurable lead or sale.

To look at a hologram unit for a plant reception, showroom or stand, see HoloBox 911 or HoloBox rental. Rental starts from ₹75,000 a day for the unit only, plus GST. Purchase is by enquiry. You can also talk to our team.