How Retailers Are Redefining the Future of Shopping: The ScreenX and Personalization Revolution

Retail is at a turning point. While e-commerce platforms attract customers with low prices, brick-and-mortar stores need to develop a new strategy: turning shopping into an unforgettable experience. In the Philippines, this phenomenon is particularly evident—and it could become the model for global retail transformation.

ScreenX: When Cinema Becomes an Immersive Experience

Let’s start with the most spectacular innovation: ScreenX. SM Prime, the country’s largest cinema operator, has recognized that streaming services pose an existential threat. The answer? A technology that redefines cinema entirely.

In September 2025, SM Prime opened the Philippines’ first ScreenX theater in the country’s largest shopping mall, SM Mall of Asia. Instead of a traditional rectangular screen, the image here extends across the entire width of the cinema—beyond the main screen onto the right and left walls. The result: a 360-degree viewing experience that surpasses previous cinema technology, even exceeding IMAX.

Steven Tan, President of SM Supermalls, explained the strategy clearly: “The days of large standard cinemas are over. We need to bring younger generations back into physical spaces with something completely new—an truly captivating experience that cannot be reproduced online."

Tickets for ScreenX cost P700 each. The partner behind this innovation: South Korean company CJ 4DPLEX, which has already developed technologies like 4DX and UltraDX. For the Christmas holidays, SM Prime showcased the film “Avatar: Fire and Ash” here.

Personalization as a Business Model: From Plush Toys to Bottles

Lessons from ScreenX lead to a larger trend: personalization and individualization. Two case studies stand out as particularly interesting.

Hello Bear: Cuddly toys made to order

In selected shopping centers in Metro Manila, the brand Hello Bear has created something revolutionary: a store where customers can design and build their own plush toys. The process is impressively well thought out:

First, choose an unfilled plush toy. Then, it is attached to a blow-molding machine—by pressing a foot pedal, the filling is pumped in. The customer decides how firm or soft the toy should be.

Extras include: a battery-operated small red heart that gives the plush toy a simulated heartbeat, which automatically turns off when the toy is not in use. Customers can also install a voice recording device—any desired message is recorded and played back by the toy.

Next, the hole is sewn up. Then, accessory customization follows: clothing, toy headphones, toy camera, sunglasses, headbands—the options are virtually endless. Finally, the plush toy is given a name, recorded on an identification card.

Costs start at a minimum of P1,000 but increase with each gadget and accessory. Hello Bear stores are located in Century City Mall (Makati), Venice Grand Canal (BGC), Newport World Resorts (Pasay City), Toys R Us Power Plant Mall (Makati), and Toys R Us Opus Mall (Quezon City), as well as in Greenhills (San Juan City).

Sunnies Flask: The Bottle as Art

Similarly revolutionary, but in a completely different product category, operates Sunnies Inc. The company, which started as a sunglasses retailer, has long since diversified—including personalized water bottles that redefine the retail experience concept.

There are three bottle types—Robo Bottle, Bubble Bottle, Pebble Bottle—in four sizes (16oz, 25oz, 30oz, 32oz). The cheapest variant costs P695. But the real added value lies in customization: buyers can choose from a wide color palette and then combine accessories—such as the rubber boot or base (P195-P245), the Glider (P195), a bottle cleaner (P195), and bottle straps or bags (P895).

The special feature: free engraving. Every buyer can have their name, initials, or any word or symbol—using different fonts—engraved on the insulated bottle free of charge.

CEO Eric Dee of Sunnies Inc. describes the philosophy: “We offer something unique. Yes, the bottle as a product already existed—it’s a traditional business model. But we added the customization aspect, where customers can mix and match their bottles. This highly personalized experience is what drives them into the stores."

Sunnies has combined this physical strategy with digital campaigns on TikTok—the preferred platform of younger generations. Dee explains: “A lot of growth comes from new marketplaces like TikTok. TikTok is mainly live selling and product explanations—much cheaper than traditional advertising."

To create the full ecosystem, Sunnies has opened two large flagship stores—one in SM Mall of Asia, one in Bonifacio Global City—where all brands come together: Sunnies Eyewear, Sunnies Face Makeup, Sunnies Flask, and Sunnies Coffee. A place where people can “meet, drink, read, and engage”—retail as a lifestyle destination.

Steven Tan from SM Megamalls sees this development as key to the future: “Filipinos, especially the younger Gen Zs and Gen Alphas, are looking for experiences. It’s no longer enough to display goods and hope they will be bought. You really have to attract people and make it pleasant and enjoyable for them. At Sunnies World, you can personalize, emboss your initials, there’s a café, a makeup consultant. This cannot be replaced online.”

Why Experiential Retail is Winning

The bigger trend behind this is clear: while e-commerce platforms compete on prices, brick-and-mortar retail fights with experiences. The younger generation—the core market for all three examples—does not simply look for products. They seek moments, Instagram-worthy experiences, personalization that can only be fully experienced in physical spaces.

This makes retail more expensive—for consumers and retailers alike. But it also creates loyalty and social media buzz that is hard to achieve with e-commerce alone.

Outlook: 2026 and the Future

Whether these innovations will remain successful in the long term remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: the retail of the coming years will not be defined by low prices, but by experiences, personalization, and technology. The Philippine retailers are showing how it works—and the rest of the world is watching.