SportsShoes.com opens experiential flagship store in London powered by Shopify technology

Working with integration partner, Visualsoft, UK running and fitness retailer, SportsShoes, has opened a flagship store at 113 Shoreditch High Street in London, its first retail space in over 14 years.

In a LinkedIn post, Maissa Fatté, Enterprise Sales Northern Europe at Shopify, said: “Huge congrats to SportsShoes.com for the opening of House of SportsShoes - an incredible experiential flagship in the lead up to the London Marathon this April.”

She added: “The store operates as a digital first hub for runners, offering an amazing shoe range, a running lab for gait analysis, and a dedicated events floor for community, athlete sessions and brand activations.”

“Love the ‘no bags, no hassle’ concept where customers try products in-store and have them delivered to their home the next day! The store tills are powered by Shopify PoS, making the in-store purchase even more hassle free.”

Jon Cleaver, CTO at SportsShoes, says: “We have always stood for expert advice, great product and community at the heart of running. Translating that from a high-performing online operation into a physical store was a big ask.”

“It required real technical expertise and the confidence to connect complex systems without disrupting what already works. Visualsoft gave us that reassurance. By bringing our platforms together behind the scenes, they’ve helped ensure customers in Shoreditch experience the same ease, trust and consistency they associate with us online.”

Antony Hoyland, Director of Sales  at Visualsoft, says: “From our first conversation, it was obvious this wasn’t simply about installing a till. Jon called us because the functionality they needed didn’t exist out of the box. They were running BigCommerce online and wanted to bring Shopify PoS into the physical space, but those systems don’t naturally speak to each other.”

“Our role was to make that connection seamless. We integrated Shopify PoS into a BigCommerce powered e-commerce operation, effectively linking two completely different systems so the Shoreditch store could benefit from best-in-class in-store capability without compromising the online setup that’s already performing so strongly.”

He added

“Shoppers don’t think in terms of platforms or providers. They expect consistency. Whether they’re browsing online or walking into a flagship store in Shoreditch, the experience needs to feel connected. Our job was to make that happen behind the scenes, so customers simply enjoy a smooth, reliable journey.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Physical stores will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.