Across industries, the lines between retail, entertainment, and sports are dissolving. What once operated as individual sectors are now converging around a single objective: capturing attention, time, and loyalty in a world where consumers expect seamless, end-to-end experiences. Technology is no longer just a layer on top of these industries. It is becoming the invisible infrastructure that connects them.
At Globant, two of our major cases in sports and entertainment show this shift in action: our work with Sportian, where advanced analytics, real-time data, and AI-powered insights are helping sports organizations innovate fan engagement and transform experiences on and off the pitch, and the Intuit Dome, where the entire venue experience was designed to flow effortlessly, removing friction from arrival to every moment inside the arena. These two stories serve as examples of how technology can be used as an enabler to ignite pure passion and human connection, away from tickets, away from QR codes, away from the fuzz.
But this also led me to reflect on a trend that is redefining the Retail & CPG industry worldwide, and one we’ll increasingly experience in almost invisible ways: Open Business. Let’s explore what this means.
The End of Retail as We Knew It
For decades, retail was considered a set of transactions happening in physical—later online—stores: fashion, supermarkets, electronics, home goods, etc. But the world has changed. The pandemic accelerated a long-expected transformation that was once only drafted in hundred-year-from-now forecasts. Physical barriers no longer existed, and when the pandemic ended, neither did online ones.
Retail, as a result, stopped being a matter of “where you buy” and became a question of “how you live.” By 2025, roughly 73% of shoppers engage across multiple channels, blending digital discovery with in-store interaction to create seamless journeys. Brands that deliver these omnichannel experiences are seeing up to 30% higher customer lifetime value, as customers move fluidly between online, mobile, and physical touchpoints. At the same time, research shows that consumers now rely on an average of more channels before making a purchase, reinforcing the idea that experiences, not single transactions, have become the true basis of retail engagement.
In this scenario, Open Business emerged as leisure sectors converged, with every industry becoming retail and competition ultimately revolving around the same resource: the customer’s leisure budget.
People have shifted their long-term “saving and owning” behaviors toward three big areas:
- Short-term, shareable experiences: Travel adventures, experiential restaurants, iconic concerts, major sports events, adventure sports, or unique wellbeing experiences.
- Medium-term lifestyle habits: Regular sports, music, travel, healthy routines, and outdoor activities. Experiences that become part of everyday life.
- Long-term, purpose-driven actions: Social impact, conscious consumption, and community-driven initiatives. Activities designed to leave a positive footprint on the world and future generations.
In retail, diversification of activities means something substantial. Opportunities are getting bigger because the consumer’s mentality is, too. What they’re thinking now is how, what, and when to spend. The winning brands will be those capable of merging entertainment, travel, retail, sports, and purpose into integrated ecosystems.
Open Business, in Practice
Open Business is a way of working designed for these types of ecosystems, allowing Retail to keep pace with the world we live in today while unlocking its next stage of growth. It’s a trend that combines data sharing, interoperability, and strategic partnerships across sectors to deliver frictionless, connected, and meaningful experiences, turning everyday lifestyle choices into almost invisible opportunities for brands to connect with their customers.
We’re already seeing this take shape in real scenarios. At the Intuit Dome, tens of thousands of fans move through a venue designed to remove friction at every step, from entry to engagement. With Sportian, hundreds of data points are captured in real time across every match, enabling the brand to grow both its online and physical fan base. And with FIFA+, Globant’s multi-year work enhances the digital experience for millions of fans, reflecting how platforms, content, and engagement can blend into a journey that spans devices and experiences.
This opens the door to new dynamics. A venue becomes a retail space. A retail brand becomes a gateway to travel or wellbeing. Sports, entertainment, media, and lifestyle begin to merge into one continuous and consistent customer journey.
We’re living in a world where physical and digital limits are increasingly blurred, yet time, attention, and relevance are more limited than ever. In this context, brands that design experiences rather than transactions will be the ones ahead of the next turning points and best positioned to earn long-term loyalty.
From where I sit, turning Open Business into something real takes more than intent: it takes teams that know how to connect strategy, technology, and experience without breaking the customer journey. That’s the work happening inside Globant’s Retail Studio, where retailers are rethinking how they operate and grow in a world that no longer fits into neat categories. If Open Business is already part of your reality, it’s probably time to design for it.
