Global Strategy and Leadership Review

Background: Physical retail is evolving from transactional exchanges towards experience-driven ecosystems where stakeholders collaboratively create value. Understanding of how multiple stakeholders collectively create, manage and sustain engaging retail experiences remains a challenge. Aim: This systematic literature review aimed to consolidate evidence on stakeholder engagement within experiential retail. It also proposed an Engaging Experience Economy (eEE) framework that traces how management, employees, and customers exchange value inside a shared retail environment. Methodology: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic literature review was conducted using eight academic databases. Studies published between 2020 and 2026 were examined using thematic analysis. 18 peer-reviewed articles focusing on experience economy, experiential retail, stakeholder engagement, customer engagement, value co-creation and technology-enabled retail environments were analysed. Results: Six key themes emerged explaining that retail experiences are increasingly created through collaborative exchanges among customers, employees, managers, technologies and broader ecosystem actors rather than through retailer-controlled activities alone. eEE is linked with exchange relationships, a shared playground of sensory and technological conditions, and a staged sequence of outcomes running from immediate satisfaction to long-term loyalty. Conclusion: This study concluded by proposing the eEE framework, which integrated engagement, environment and outcomes into a multi-actor perspective of experiential retail.