On Running: When technology disappears into the experience

Explore how On is rethinking physical retail by combining product discovery, movement, digital interaction and local community into stores designed around what customers actually want to do.

At Dise, we continuously explore retail concepts from around the world that challenge conventional thinking. Not because every retailer should replicate them, but because they reveal new possibilities for what the physical store can become.

While Dise has no affiliation with On, we find inspiration in brands that treat digital technology as part of the customer experience rather than something added afterwards. Across its growing network of stores, On combines architecture, product, movement, storytelling and community into environments that feel distinctly physical, while still benefiting from everything digital can make easier.

Through the Dise IXM platform, our partners help retailers create similarly connected in-store experiences by orchestrating digital touchpoints, content and customer journeys through one scalable platform.

A store designed around movement

On was built around a very physical idea: the feeling of running. Its footwear technology, particularly its recognisable CloudTec cushioning, has always made performance part of the visual identity of the product. The technology is not hidden inside the shoe. It becomes part of how the product looks, feels and is understood. Its stores follow a similar philosophy.

Rather than building environments around rows of products, On increasingly designs its stores around movement, exploration and interaction. One of the best-known examples is the Magic Wall, first introduced in On’s New York flagship. At first glance, it looks like an unusually striking product display. Look closer and it becomes much more.

Customers can browse a large selection of shoes directly from the wall while digital technology helps connect the physical product with information, recommendations and fitting. In some locations, interactive running experiences allow customers to run briefly inside the store while technology analyses their movement and helps identify suitable footwear. The result is technology that is removing friction from a real customer need: finding the right shoe.

When digital becomes part of the architecture

Many retail concepts still treat digital signage as something added after the store has been designed. On takes a different approach. Digital elements are often embedded directly into the physical environment. Displays, product fixtures, lighting and interactive installations work together rather than existing as separate layers.

The Magic Wall is a good example. Created in collaboration with design studio FIELD, the installation combines a dense physical display system with digital content and interactive technology. Product, interface and architecture effectively become one experience. More recent On flagships continue this idea.

In Zurich, the brand describes several of its store experiences as “phygital”, combining physical products with digital storytelling to explain technology, materials and product innovation. The interesting part is not the presence of screens. It is how little the experience feels like looking at screens. The digital layer has a purpose. It helps customers understand something, discover something or make a decision. That distinction is increasingly important.

The future of digital in-store is unlikely to be defined by how many screens a retailer can install. It will be defined by how naturally digital experiences become part of the environment around them.

Global brand, local store

On’s stores are immediately recognisable, but they are not identical. That balance is deliberate. Across its retail portfolio, recurring elements create a consistent brand language: engineered materials, minimalist environments, footwear walls, product technology and references to the brand’s Swiss origins.

But each location also responds to the city around it. On’s retail design team starts by considering the neighbourhood, the architecture and the communities likely to use the store. The intention is not simply to place the same global concept into another city, but to create something that belongs there.

In Berlin, for example, the store combines existing architectural elements with materials and design references inspired by the relationship between urban running and nature. In Zurich, the flagship draws from both On’s engineering identity and the history of the building itself, while aspects of the design reference the nearby Limmat River.

This creates an interesting model for global retail. Consistency does not have to mean sameness. A strong retail system can protect the brand globally while still allowing stores to reflect local context, campaigns and communities. The same principle applies to digital in-store experiences. Central orchestration can provide consistency while content adapts according to location, audience, conditions or local relevance.

That ability to combine global control with contextual experiences is one of the ideas behind In-Store Experience Management. The Dise IXM platform enables partners to manage and orchestrate digital touchpoints across locations while supporting dynamic, data-driven and locally relevant content.

Technology that knows when to step back

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about On’s approach is its restraint. A technology-driven brand could easily turn its stores into collections of interactive screens and digital installations. Instead, On appears to treat technology as something that needs to earn its place.

Its retail design team has spoken about deliberately avoiding digital overload. Screens and interactive experiences are positioned where they support a relevant product, story or moment in the journey, rather than appearing around every corner simply because they can. It is a useful reminder for modern retail: More digital does not necessarily create a more compelling digital experience.

Lessons for retailers

On demonstrates that great physical retail does not need to choose between technology and human experience. The strongest concepts combine both. They use digital experiences where they add value, while allowing product, architecture, staff and community to do what they do best. They build recognisable global concepts without turning every location into a copy. And they design around the customer journey rather than around individual pieces of technology.

Of course, creating these experiences across tens, hundreds or thousands of locations introduces another challenge: keeping them coordinated, manageable and relevant over time. This is where In-Store Experience Management becomes increasingly important. The Dise IXM platform gives our partners a foundation for orchestrating digital touchpoints across the store, enabling retailers to manage experiences centrally while supporting interactive, contextual and data-driven communication across locations.

On shows what can happen when technology stops being the destination. Instead, it quietly becomes part of what makes the store work. And when that happens, digital does not make physical retail less physical.

It helps bring it to life.

Contact us today

If you’d like to explore how our partners help retailers create connected and engaging in-store experiences powered by the Dise IXM platform, we’d love to start the conversation.