Brookstone

Brookstone's 2018 bankruptcy and mall store closures ended a gadget retailer that pioneered experiential shopping - massage chairs and electronic gadgets you could try before buying. Mall traffic decline and e-commerce competition destroyed the model. Customers played with products at Brookstone then bought on Amazon. The company survives in airports where captive audiences and impulse purchases create different economics. Brookstone demonstrated that experiential retail becomes showrooming liability without purchase conversion.