Robbie Thain
Founder, CEO
AI-generated illustrative image. Not an official campaign image.
Brands are using stores for feedback and community. Makai examines what that means for CPG activation staffing, logistics, footprint and measurement.
On October 13, 2026, Modern Retail published a report describing brands investing in physical stores as AI shopping tools and faster delivery expand. Updated October 14, the report documented businesses using stores for sensory product interaction, customer feedback and community connection alongside direct selling.
For CPG and beverage marketing leaders, the operational question is what those physical interactions are supposed to accomplish. A visit built around product feedback asks something different of a field team than a product trial or a community gathering. The brief needs to make that distinction before execution begins.
The reported development is a set of business choices, not a new retail rule. Brands are giving physical locations jobs beyond completing a purchase. Modern Retail's September 16 coverage also framed brands' renewed store focus alongside AI's effects on digital customer acquisition.
The October report makes those store functions concrete. Modern Retail reported that Brunt brings prototypes to its Massachusetts flagship several times a month. Customer-insights and product teams invite shoppers into a room called the “Think Tank” to discuss product use and possible improvements.
Rhone uses store employees as another feedback channel. According to Modern Retail, managers speak weekly with the merchandising team and relay customer comments. That is a recurring information exchange between the retail floor and the people making product decisions.
Community programming is another part of Rhone's strategy. Modern Retail reported that Rhone has 25 stores and expected to have held almost 500 events across its store fleet by the end of 2026. Its “12 Pursuits” program organizes the year around monthly themes such as “Sleep,” “Breathwork” and “Hydration.”
These are reported company practices, not a universal business case. The coverage does not establish Rhone's event-level costs, attendance, conversion or sales lift. Neither a busy store nor a full event calendar proves Return on Investment (ROI), so the practical response is to define the intended outcome and measure that outcome directly.
Our stance is aloha with discipline: make people feel welcome while staying clear about the business purpose of the interaction. For CPG and beverage brands, physical engagement deserves a defined role in the path from attention to action.
Makai creates experiential marketing campaigns and trade show activations designed to turn fleeting consumer interactions into qualified leads for premium CPG brands. Our process blends creativity, strategy and data to connect emotion with action. That positioning makes the distinction between a memorable experience and a measurable commercial outcome central to this discussion.
Our team created an in-store experience for a CPG snack launch that left a lasting impression on consumers and became a memorable brand moment. We see that experience as a reminder that emotional connection belongs in the brief. The business objective belongs there too, without treating enthusiasm as a substitute for evidence.
Our Retail Demonstrations use trained brand ambassadors to drive in-store sales through conversations and product trials. Our Costco Roadshows bring brands to shoppers through live demos and end-to-end execution. Those formats put a specific product interaction at the center rather than asking attendance alone to carry the commercial story.
For us, the useful lesson from Modern Retail's reporting is not that brands should copy an apparel company's event calendar. It is that physical engagement needs a clearly assigned purpose. Teams seeking evidence beyond event headcount should make that purpose explicit before choosing the experience format.
The downstream work sits in staffing, logistics and the physical space itself. Our operational reading is that a broader role for stores calls for a more specific activation brief. “Build community” and “drive trial” describe different intended outcomes, even when they share a location.
Brunt's example assigns customer conversations to customer-insights and product teams. Rhone's example connects store managers with merchandising. As reported by Modern Retail, both approaches give information a destination beyond the person who first hears it.
For Makai, that distinction matters when interpreting a field brief. A product trial needs an ambassador who can engage shoppers around the product. A feedback-focused interaction needs questions about use and improvement, as Brunt's reported prototype discussions illustrate.
Makai's trained brand ambassadors are part of our retail demonstration offering. We believe their product conversations should be understood in relation to the stated commercial objective. Trial is a meaningful activity, but the brief still needs to distinguish trial from conversion or qualified feedback.
Rhone CEO Nate Checketts also cautioned that teams need to aggregate feedback and build consensus before acting on it, according to Modern Retail. The operational implication is straightforward: a shopper comment and an agreed product decision are different things. Feedback needs interpretation rather than automatic promotion into a conclusion.
A community theme does not settle the execution format. Makai's services include retail demonstrations, Costco Roadshows and mobile sampling tours. Each gives a brand a different way to bring a live product experience to shoppers.
Makai's integrated services span permitting through CRM reporting. Our Storage & Logistics service stores sampling product and event gear, then coordinates nationwide shipping and tracking. Those capabilities connect the physical materials with the broader execution responsibility.
We believe the format decision and its operational implications belong in the same planning discussion. Permits and staffing should not become a separate conversation after the experience has already been defined. The intended interaction provides the context for evaluating those decisions.
For a CPG team, the useful distinction is between choosing an engaging idea and choosing an executable program. A recurring community concept may serve connection. A roadshow may center product trial and shopper conversations. The commercial goal should explain why that format belongs in the campaign.
Modern Retail's examples describe distinct reasons for being in a store: discussing prototypes, sharing product feedback and participating in community events. Our view is that the physical footprint should reflect the interaction the brand intends to support.
Makai plans and manages trade show spaces that attract attention, start conversations and convert visitors into customers. Scattered attention and poor booth flow are among the problems we address. That positioning makes the progression from interest to conversation part of the space's purpose.
For a product-trial activation, the product interaction should be the focus of the footprint discussion. For a feedback-oriented experience, room for a useful conversation deserves attention. These are planning distinctions, not claims that a particular layout will produce a particular sales result.
The same thinking applies to spaces built around trials and buyer conversations. A crowd shows that people are present. The next question is whether the space supports the interaction named in the brief.
The research supports a practical distinction between activity and evidence. An activation may aim to generate qualified product feedback, trial, conversion or community participation. The reporting should make the chosen outcome visible rather than substitute whatever activity is easiest to count.
For Makai, measurable sales pipeline is part of the purpose of face-to-face marketing. Where the objective involves retail purchasing, connecting live interactions with sell-through is a more relevant discussion than reporting foot traffic alone.
A feedback program and a sales-focused demonstration do not need identical measures. They need measures that fit their stated jobs. That is the operational discipline worth carrying from the store examples into a CPG activation brief.
Rhone CEO Nate Checketts told Modern Retail, “As we’re surrounded by all this AI tech, in-person still matters.”
The report connects that position with Rhone's thinking about store design and staff training. Checketts described events as a reason for customers to visit whether or not they intend to buy clothing that day.
Makai's reaction is that a welcome and a commercial purpose can coexist. The experience can respect the participant's reason for showing up while the brand remains clear about what it intends to learn or achieve.
The useful takeaway is not a larger event calendar. It is a clearer assignment for the next physical experience. The intended outcome should be recognizable in the staffing discussion, the footprint and the reporting.
As CMO or VP of Marketing, will you choose the primary outcome for your next activation today and ask your team to align staffing and footprint decisions with evidence of that outcome?
Deciding how a store visit becomes a product trial is where Makai takes on end-to-end execution of Costco Roadshows. For CPG marketers navigating permits and staffing across regions, the service combines live demos with shopper conversations and measurable sales impact while addressing complex event logistics.
30 Years Experiential & Retail Activation Partner for CPG & Beverage Brands | Multi-Market Demos, Roadshows & Costco/Club Programs That Actually Sell
