10 Unusual Retail Experiences

By Michelle Fox, CNBC.com

Most people go to a store to buy what they need, and call it a day. However, there are some retailers who are going the extra mile to capture customers. It may include selling unexpected items or giving their customers an unusual experience.

Costco, for example, employs the first strategy by offering customers a treasure hunt of sorts. While the warehouse store, which is the subject of a CNBC documentary " The Costco Craze," is known for bulk items like pallets of toilet paper and big boxes of cereal, it also sells thinks like diamond rings and coffins.
Other retailers have taken it a step further by offering something outside the shopping experience that visitors can enjoy while they are bouncing between aisles or hopping from store to store. Their business strategy is simple - lure as many people into their shops as possible. The result: malls and stores that have become a combination shopping/entertainment destination.

So what are some of the most unusual retail experiences?

See the full slideshow: 10 Unusual Retail Experiences


Designers like Zac Posen, Betsey Johnson, Alexander McQueen and Roberto Cavalli have already staged shows at Fashion … Fashion Show Mall
Attraction: fashion shows
Location: Las Vegas

Most stores have mannequins to model clothing, but this Las Vegas mall takes things a step further - it hosts live fashion shows. Three days a week, seven times a day, models strut their stuff down an 80-foot retractable runway in the mall's Great Hall. Designers like Zac Posen, Betsey Johnson, Alexander McQueen and Roberto Cavalli have already staged shows at Fashion Show.

The shopping center, which says it attracts more than 13 million shoppers a year, anticipates holding more than 1,000 fashion shows this year.


The bar list includes such concoctions as Pop Rocks Explosion, Root Beer Floatini and Strawberry Nerds Mojito. Dylan's Candy Bar
Attraction: Café and Bar
Location: New York

If you want to indulge your sweet tooth, this Willy Wonka-inspired candy shop in New York has all sorts of tempting treats. The brainchild of Dylan Lauren, daughter of fashion designer Ralph Lauren, Dylan's Candy Bar is home to 7,000 candies from around the globe.

When you are done stuffing your shopping bag with enough sweets to quench your cravings, you can head up to the store's bar and café. However, these aren't your typical eating and drinking establishments. For instance, you can order a regular pizza or a desert pie, like a s'mores pizza, which comes with mini marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate chips and marshmallow topping. If a sandwich is more your style, you can try a Nutty Jammy Fluffy (pictured left) - peanut butter, jelly, marshmallow cream and one topping on bread. The drinks also don't disappoint. The bar list includes such concoctions as Pop Rocks Explosion, Root Beer Floatini and Strawberry Nerds Mojito.


Visitors who are brave enough can get up close and personal with the marine life during a shark dive. The Dubai Mall
Attraction: Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Open since 2008, the Dubai Mall is home to 1,200 stores and various entertainment options, but its most dramatic draw is a 2.6 million gallon fish tank. The Dubai Aquarium , which the mall bills as the world's largest suspended aquarium, is on the ground floor and is home to more than 33,000 aquatic animals - including the largest collection anywhere of Sand Tiger sharks.
Visitors who are brave enough can get up close and personal with the marine life during a shark dive. For those who prefer glass between them and the aquarium's inhabitants, they can not only gaze into the tank while strolling between shops, they can also traipse through the 157-foot-long tunnel at the bottom.

Located above the aquarium, on the second level, is the Underwater Zoo, which has three ecological zones: rainforest, living ocean and rocky shore. Visitors can catch glimpses of otters, penguins, crocodiles and more. They can also take a glass-bottom boat ride over the zoo's rock pool.
Over 1.1 million people visited the aquarium and underwater zoo in 2011.


One of the main attractions, in addition to the 520 shops, is Nickelodeon Universe. Mall of America
Attraction: Nickelodeon Universe
Location: Bloomington, Minn.

When you think megamall, you generally think of the Mall of America in Minnesota. The 4.2-million-square-foot space, which could fit seven baseball stadiums, sees 40 million visitors a year. One in four are tourists.

One of the main attractions, in addition to the 520 shops, is Nickelodeon Universe. The amusement park, which touts itself as the nation's largest indoor family theme park, is located on 7 acres in the center of the mall. Among the 27 attractions are thrill rides like the Avatar Airbender and Brain Surge, and family rides like Log Chute and Crazy Cars. There's also an adventure course that allows guests to climb 56 feet above Nickelodeon Universe.

Mall guests looking to take a different kind of plunge can visit the Chapel of Love wedding chapel. So far, more than 5,000 weddings have been performed at the site.


Ski Dubai, which is over 242,000 square feet, says it is Mall of the Emirates
Attraction: Ski Dubai
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

If combining shopping and skiing is your idea of a perfect way to spend a day, the Mall of Emirates in Dubai has just what you're looking for. That's right - this mall has a ski resort within its walls.

Ski Dubai, which is over 242,000 square feet, says it is "covered in real snow all year round." It has five ski runs that vary in difficulty, a snowboard park and a tubing hill. Don't have any ski clothes or equipment? Don't worry, Ski Dubai offers those as well. It also has a ski school for those who want to learn to ski, or polish up on their skills. All in a city where the average daily high temperature from June through September is at least 100 degrees.


See the full slideshow: 10 Unusual Retail Experiences


"The Costco Craze" premieres Thursday April 26 at 9 p.m. ET, with a re-air at 12 a.m. ET.


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