How MacK Seale Makes Retail Brand Experiences That Make You Feel Something

👋 Hi, I'm Amanda. I'm a brand strategist and fractional CMO. I help founder-led businesses turn belief into brand—and brand into a strategic asset that works as hard as you do. I share weekly deep dives with actionable advice on brand building—plus interviews with the people in the trenches. I also work 1:1 with founders and teams. Book a chat here.

Who will love this

• 💡 Window shoppers

• 🍏 Apple obsessives (guilty!)

• 🛍️ Brand-first founders eyeing brick-and-mortar

• 🤝 Community-driven retailers

Today

Good morning!

I’m thrilled to share my chat with —retail strategist extraordinaire (Warby Parker × Apple alum). I live for brand storytelling; MacK lives for in-store magic. Every time we talk, it feels like we’re on the same page—just in different worlds.

MacK views retail through a magical, fun lens which is contagious in the best way. Beyond her strategy chops, she’s a phenomenal writer whose newsletter will make you smarter with every issue (her recent post on Jacquemus is so fun). Her retail reading list alone is worth its weight in gold—whether you live and breathe retail or are simply curious about how community, design, and commerce intersect.

One of the questions I asked: if e-commerce is so efficient, why bother with bricks and mortar? MacK’s answer is spot-on:

And here’s a nugget every retail founder needs to hear:

You’re going to love this interview. If you’re building or running a shop, do yourself a favor: subscribe to MacK’s newsletter and book her to help transform your store from transactional to truly transformational.

Enjoy the read!

—Amanda

Amanda Gordon: Hi MacK! Your background is in retail strategy—so let’s start there. What is retail strategy, in your words?

MacK Seale: retail strategy is about creating spaces where communities thrive and businesses flourish.

it's the art of building something that matters to people. places where strangers become friends, where products solve real problems, where employees find passions, and where profit fuels something bigger than itself.

the best retail doesn’t just work. it invites joy, sparks connection, and leaves everyone a little better than before.

that’s magic. that’s merrymaking.

Amanda Gordon: From your perspective, what separates a store that just sells things from one that builds a brand?

MacK Seale: a store sells you something and sends you on your way. a brand stays with you long after you leave.

the difference is always the people. both the ones behind the counter and in front of it.

i learned this working at apple and warby parker. when you invest in your team, they become brand ambassadors, storytellers, problem-solvers, experience curators, and community builders.

they look you in the eye. remember your name. care about your story. they turn transactions into relationships.

brands are built in these moments of humans connecting with humans.

Amanda Gordon: Who do you think nails brand in retail today?

MacK Seale: jacquemus is absolutely killing it right now. i’m obsessed with their stores and storytelling.

last week i wrote about how brilliantly they’re responding to a deeper truth that we want to feel joy. we want a reason to leave the house and step into a feeling. so jacquemus is inviting us over for parties in their “homes.” oversized yellow couches. bowling alleys in boutiques. open-air markets where laughter is the background music.

they’re delivering delight in everything they do across all channels.

Amanda Gordon: In an era where so much shopping happens online, what’s the role of physical retail now—and where do you think it’s going?

MacK Seale: yes, lots of shopping happens online. but stories, relationships, and community happen in stores.

physical retail is for many a second or third place. a cherished spot between home and work where we actually belong. i think about the barista who knows my order, the boutique owner who texts when my size arrives, and the bookshop that hosts poetry nights.

these aren't just stores. they're the fabric of our neighborhoods. the future of our cities. the cure for our loneliness epidemic. the places where real life happens.

we as humans need these places more than we realize.

Amanda Gordon: You consult with emerging brands on their retail presence. When resources are tight, where’s the most strategic place for a founder to invest first?

MacK Seale: your people. always your people.

the fanciest store with the wrong team is just an expensive mistake. but the right team can make a small space feel infinite. they can turn a simple offering with a small budget into something unforgettable.

so invest in finding true believers.

people who get your mission, who light up when they talk about your products, who treat customers like guests in their home. these brand ambassadors build communities, solve problems, create experiences, and turn first-time shoppers into lifelong fans.

great people make everything else possible, especially early on.

Amanda Gordon: With Merry Makery, you’re creating something that feels part concept store, part creative lab, part community hub. What inspired you to build it—and what have you learned so far about what people actually want from retail today?

MacK Seale: i started merry makery because i believe stores can change people.

a beautiful store can shift your mood. a kind employee can shift your day. a single in-person moment can shift your entire relationship with a brand and even with yourself. retail has always been more than a place to buy something. it’s where ideas become tangible. where someone’s dream becomes a retail reality.

i built merry makery to celebrate this magic or as i like to call it, merrymaking.

i want to support the people who make it happen. to show that behind every great store is a set of values you can feel the moment you walk in. i want to help make more of these merry moments.

Amanda Gordon: What’s a common retail mistake even good brands make—and how would you approach it differently?

MacK Seale: too many brands focus on selling when they should be storytelling.

they perfect the product pitch but forget to share the deeper reason why it matters. they train for transactions instead of moments that make people feel something.

when your team understands the story, they become part of it. they show up differently. they speak with heart, not just a script. and when customers feel that, they don’t just buy, they buy in to the belonging.

stories create meaning. meaning creates memory.

memory is what brings people back and what makes people tell their friends.

Amanda Gordon: For early-stage founders dreaming of opening a store someday, what advice would you give them to start thinking retail long before they sign a lease?

MacK Seale: retail begins the moment you take an online relationship offline.

start building your community as soon as you can. host events. collaborate with other brands. organize pop-ups in friends' spaces or at your office..

every gathering is practice for your future store.every in-person moment deepens the connection.every face-to-face convo teaches you about your community.

think of these as rehearsals and knowledge gathering for the main event. so then when you are ready to open your doors, you'll already have a crowd waiting to celebrate with you.

Amanda Gordon: Brand books rarely cover how a brand lives and breathes in physical space. How do you think about brand expression in retail—and how do you make sure it’s done right?

MacK Seale: a brand book is the blueprint. it names the values, defines the voice, sketches the vision.

but on its own, it’s just paper (or slides).

living a brand requires practice. not just in store, but in every meeting, every training, every decision at all levels.

i like to think of the brand book like a seed. you plant it with intention. but it only grows if the soil is right. if it’s watered consistently. if the people tending to it care deeply. if it’s getting proper light.

brand expression happens in retail when your values are upheld in both small and big moments.

Amanda Gordon: Final question: Who is your favorite retailer of all time?

MacK Seale: apple. forever and always.

i fell in love initially as a customer when i bought my first ipod in store and experienced their magic.

then i got to work there behind the scenes and met the people making it happen. that made me love it even more. they taught me everything: that retail is theater, that education beats selling, that investing in people pays dividends. plus they made an entire generation of brands think different about physical spaces.

because of apple i know that retail, at its best, changes lives.

including mine.

Follow the (brand) leader: MacK Seale 🔗

If you’re a founder, marketer, or retail operator craving more transformation in your transactions—and stronger buy-in from your customers—you’ll want to get amongst it and follow MacK!

• Follow MacK on LinkedIn for a dose of fun retail in your feed

• Subscribe to Merry Makery for smart takes on retail strategy

Brand news 🗞️

• Mercury is a brand to keep an eye on: I’m low-key in love with my business banking. I attended the Hemisphere Conference and it was pitch-perfect brand magic. File under: IPO watch.

• Proud moment: my colleagues at For The People were shortlisted in D&AD Writing for Design (IDSA & Meander Valley). Words build worlds & it is so much fun to work with talented writers.

• invited me on Merry Makery to share my take on making retail magical—read it here.

• I chatted with on ICYMI about whether your brand should join Substack, off the back of Hinge’s campaign last week.

• I’m on The Brand Hunch podcast with Lindsay Rogers of Chello—hit play, subscribe, and get my voice in your earbuds on what strategy is and isn’t.

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