London, Tuesday, 16 September 2025.
Last Monday Landsec, Holovis and creative studio Wake The Tiger confirmed two immersive installations for 2025: themed storytelling guest journeys at Westfield London and the UK’s first ApolloDomes—two 19‑metre projection domes—at Gunwharf Quays, debuting with Halloween and Christmas programmes. For retail operators and investors this marks a deliberate pivot to experience‑led tenancy: lower‑footprint, faster‑fit‑out attractions that drive dwell time, ancillary F&B and repeat visitation while commanding ticket revenue and flexible content licensing. Key operational levers include planning and noise constraints in urban centres, dome safety and staffing, AV lifecycle and content pipelines, plus integration with dynamic ticketing, mall marketing and landlord‑subtenant commercial models. The most intriguing fact: large‑scale dome projection arrives in mainstream UK retail, offering a scalable, high‑turnover entertainment format that sits between pop‑up experiences and full‑scale dark rides. Retail executives should weigh capex, programming agility and revenue‑share when assessing whether domes and immersive journeys belong in leasing mix.
Immersive domes arrive in UK retail and what that means for mall tenancy
Two major immersive projects were confirmed for UK shopping destinations in September 2025: Holovis is supplying two 19‑metre ApolloDomes at Gunwharf Quays that will open with Halloween and Christmas programmes, while a separate Westfield London installation will deploy themed, IP‑led guest journeys developed with a creative studio partner [1][2][3]. These announcements position large‑format domes and themed guest journeys as new experiential tenancy options that sit between short‑term pop‑ups and capital‑intensive dark rides, offering a lower‑footprint, faster fit‑out model for landlords and operators seeking to boost dwell time and ticket revenue within retail centres [1][2][5]. [alert! ‘no direct Wake The Tiger press release was provided among sources to independently verify the Westfield creative-studio partner announcement; the Westfield reference appears in aggregated coverage but a dedicated release from Wake The Tiger was not in the supplied sources’]
How dome technology and programming change the retail playbook
ApolloDomes combine large‑scale projection, spatial audio and multi‑sensory effects to create seasonal theatrical shows designed for high throughput and repeat visitation; Holovis describes the product as a next‑generation immersive format created for retail destinations and scalable to multiple sites [1][3]. For mall operators this model promises rapid content refresh (seasonal Halloween and Christmas programmes are already planned) and the option to licence or swap media packages to keep experiences new without structural rebuilds, a flexibility that contrasts with the longer lifecycles of fixed-theme rides [1][3][5].
Retail operations and merchandise strategy inside immersive attractions
Merchandising in a theme‑park‑style retail operation inside a mall must be integrated with the guest journey: timed show schedules and high throughput demand efficient, compact retail footprints positioned at entry/exit thresholds to capture impulse spend and post‑show purchase intent [GPT]. Exclusive event merchandise (seasonal pins, limited‑run art prints, show‑branded F&B packaging and small collectible items) drives per‑capita spend and repeat visits when tied to time‑limited programmes such as Halloween and Christmas; licensing partnerships and capsule drops can be promoted through mall channels and in‑show storytelling to create urgency and collectibility [4][1].
Shop design and flow for compact immersive retail zones
Effective shop design for dome‑adjacent retail prioritises queuing decongestion, sightlines to merchandising, and modular fixtures that can be rebranded between seasons. Retail spaces for these attractions typically use compact, high‑turnover displays, vertical merchandising and bundled offerings to maximise spend per square metre while keeping capex and install time low — aligning with the domes’ lower‑footprint proposition compared with full dark‑ride fit‑outs [1][5]. Operationally, staff need cross‑training for ticketing, guest flow management and retail transactions to minimise labour overheads in a compact site [1][5].
Commercial models: ticketing, dynamic pricing and revenue share
Retail landlords and experience operators are exploring mixed commercial models — direct operator leases, landlord‑subtenant revenue share, or hybrid splits where ticketing is run by the attraction and F&B/retail revenue is shared or retained by the mall — because domes can generate both admission income and ancillary spend. Integration with mall marketing and dynamic pricing systems is essential to smooth demand and maximise off‑peak visitation; the ability to run seasonal pricing for Halloween and Christmas programmes is cited as part of the ApolloDomes rollout strategy [1][3][5].
Safety, planning and AV lifecycle considerations
Key operational levers include planning consent and noise/footfall impact in urban centres, safety protocols for enclosed dome environments, and lifecycle management of AV systems and content pipelines. Holovis’ proposition highlights the need for specialist AV integration and creative content teams to maintain high show quality across sites — experience Holovis credits in large attractions underscores the technical complexity of domes and the value of proven integrators for consistent rollout [3][1][6].
Case studies and industry context that inform revenue expectations
Retail executives assessing domes can look to high‑profile immersive projects for benchmarks: a major spherical venue in the US sold over 500,000 tickets in its first four months, generating more than US$65 million in revenue with premium ticket pricing and high throughput entertainment programming — an example of the ticket‑led economics operators aim to replicate at scale in retail contexts [6]. Licensing and IP partnerships — exemplified by large retail‑IP collaborations and seasonal retail campaigns seen across the UK market — provide proven routes to merchandising lift and promotional reach when tied to theatrical guest journeys [4][5].
Operational checklist for retail and asset managers
When evaluating domes and IP‑led guest journeys for a leasing mix, stakeholders should assess: planning/noise constraints; footfall modelling and queue management; capex and fit‑out speed relative to a full ride; staffing models that combine front‑of‑house, retail and safety teams; AV lifecycle contracts and content refresh pipelines; dynamic ticketing and yield management integration; and clear commercial terms for revenue share or rent. These factors determine whether a dome will operate as a high‑yield, flexible leisure asset within a retail destination or as a short‑term novelty with limited long‑term lift [1][3][5].
Bronnen