Knock-out Christmas window displays aren't unique to New York retail brands, of course. Neiman Marcus takes its Christmas windows at its downtown Dallas flagship to outer space this season, in support of local Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
For the second consecutive year, the luxury retailer's downtown store windows let children climb in from the street to experience the display through giant tubing. This year, the luxury retailer took the concept further.
Called Big Encounters of the Little Kind, its Christmas display incorporates kids' creations (with 800 stars made by local students), plus an over-the-top holiday brand experience that offers play for kids and interactive features for bigger kids' smartphones.
"For the adults on the outside, we've turned the windows from static to interactive," commented Ignaz Gorischek, VP of store development for Neiman Marcus, to the Dallas Morning News.
Visitors can text a number to control one of six special effects inside the display, and use camera phones to place themselves in space scenes.
"Windows can be a 24/7 point of access for people walking by. Phone applications can capture information about displayed products and brands. Who knows?" said Gorischek, the creative executive who came up with the idea of letting children climb into the store last year. "It's just the tip of the iceberg."
Window shoppers can expect even more interactive commerce possibilities throughout the year, Gorischek told the Dallas Morning News.
In October, the windows featured some fantasy gifts from the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, the iconic catalog famed for its own out-of-this-world items and experiences.
This year, that included the 50th annual "his and hers" fantasy gift (a 48-by-12 houseboat with 7-foot ceilings, worth $250,000) and a limited edition car: a 2011 Neiman Marcus Edition Camaro convertible with a 6.2-liter V8 engine that sells for $75,000.
In another first, the 2010 Christmas Book was released as an iPad app, a natural move that supports the 10% of its customers who shop online via a smartphone.
The retailer's Los Angeles outpost, meanwhile, brightened up with what Racked calls "festive dress porn" — check it out.
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