The Shadow Experience Economy
When most people hear “the Experience Economy,” they think of the big stuff—sports, entertainment, travel, and dining. Stadiums packed with fans. Airlines filled with travelers chasing sun or family. Music festivals lit up with pyrotechnics and sponsorships.
But after years running Experiences, I’ve had a front-row seat to something I call the Shadow Experience Economy—the quiet, fast-growing, and wonderfully weird counterpart to those headline-grabbing experiences.
The Real Growth Is Happening Elsewhere
While the giants of the world build arenas and theme parks, the real action—the stuff growing faster than nearly any part of retail—is happening in small spaces:
- In coffee shops hosting latte art classes.
- In distilleries running weekend tastings.
- In candle-making studios filled with friends and wine.
This is where a new generation of entrepreneurs is reimagining what it means to shop local.
They’re turning ordinary storefronts into classrooms, date spots, or creative playgrounds. They’re realizing that connection is the new luxury.
The Data Behind the Shift
According to Future Market Insights, the local experience marketplace is growing about 15% a year through 2032—a rate that outpaces nearly every traditional retail category.
That means tens of billions of dollars are moving toward hands-on, in-person, bookable experiences that blend commerce and community.
And if you’re a Shopify merchant, this is your backyard.
This is the Shopify territory of the Experience Economy—the place where small businesses are inventing their own kinds of magic.
Think workshops. Tastings. Goat yoga. Cat cafés. (Yes, they’re real. I’ve been to one. It was everything you’d imagine and more.)
The Human Stuff
It’s the weird stuff—the human stuff—that’s driving this growth.
Not because it’s efficient.
Not because it scales easily.
But because it creates something digital retail can’t: memory.
When a customer learns, tastes, builds, or laughs in your space, that moment lasts. It becomes part of your brand story—and theirs.
That’s why we built Experiences for Shopify: to make it possible for merchants to turn moments like these into bookable, on-brand revenue streams without leaving their site or handing customers off to Eventbrite or some generic booking portal.
Because we believe the future of retail isn’t just about what you sell.
It’s about what people remember.
A Thought Experiment for Retailers
Here’s a fun challenge:
Pick any type of business—no matter how boring or random—and ask, “What would this look like as a bookable experience?”
It’s a simple exercise, but it opens the door to how retail is evolving. Because as consumers, we’re all chasing the same thing—connection, story, and meaning.
And the small retailers leaning into that truth?
Photo credit: Timothé Durand