Culture Kings is a leading streetwear retailer that blends fashion, entertainment, and technology into unforgettable retail experiences. Their 25,000 square foot flagship store in Las Vegas is a destination venue, featuring live DJs, a basketball court, and hype events that bring their community together.
Heading into the high-traffic Black Friday weekend, they set out to create a high-energy, in-store experience that felt unique to their ethos.
Everyone refers to Black Friday as retail’s “Super Bowl”, and at the Culture Kings Las Vegas flagship, we’ve always got to show up BIG.
The Challenge: A New Spin on Black Friday
Culture Kings’ community don’t just want to buy things — they want to experience things. Heading into the Black Friday weekend, Culture Kings was looking for a scalable way to surprise & delight their in-store customers, without resorting to sales or markdowns. They also wanted to make use of their in-store basketball court — a rare amenity, even in Las Vegas.
Part One: The Double or Nothing Challenge
High value customers on Black Friday were invited to play the “Double or Nothing Challenge” — a high-stakes game that turned baskets into store credit. If a customer spent $200+ in-store, staff registered them at checkout by creating or updating a customer record, and issuing a mobile wallet pass to track earnings during the challenge — all in a few taps. On the court, a single scan of their wallet pass kicked off the game.
After each basket, players faced a choice: walk away with the credit they’d just earned, or risk it all for a chance to double it on the next shot — up to $1024 to spend at Culture Kings. Live hosts amped up the crowd, while giant screens showcased each player and their progress, transforming high value customers into stars of the show. The energy was contagious, and the high-stakes experience was entertaining to watch, easy to share, and instantly rewarding.
When the game ended, each player’s earned credit was stored on their wallet pass and ready to be redeemed at checkout.
When we teamed up with Shopify for the Double or Nothing Challenge through Black Friday weekend, we created an experience that’s true to both brands: exciting, engaging, and pushes the envelope.
Part Two: Earn it. Scan it. Spend it.
When customers wanted to redeem their credit, staff scanned each player’s wallet pass using Shopify POS and instantly applied their earned credit to the order. No codes, no math, no slowdown with Black Friday crowds. After their purchase, their customer record was updated with the new order data, tying together the entire experience for Culture Kings’ CRM — from registration to redemption.
In total, 100 high value customers completed the “Double or Nothing Challenge”, setting a new bar for blending retail and entertainment.
The activation created core memories for those who participated and also their friends, family and fellow shoppers who cheered them on. Every day brought new jackpot winners and new UGC uploaded to Instagram, Tiktok and beyond.
It was super exciting to be the first to use this tech – Shopify POS made everything seamless and experiential, from the mobile wallet passes to the instant store credit redemption at checkout. The buzz in store and online was proof that it’s moments over markdowns every time
How Shopify Made This Possible
- Seamless player experience: Players used a custom POS UI Extension to receive their unique mobile wallet passes and to instantly redeem their credit after the challenge — even in the rush of Black Friday weekend traffic. Shopify POS UI extensions are flexible by design. They can connect real activities directly to checkout, instantly creating or updating customer records or shopping carts.
- Dynamic and secure rewards: Shopify’s Admin API was used to generate a unique discount code for each player who earned credit, tied to their customer record. Each player’s mobile wallet pass (built with Badge) reflected their earned credit and ensured that it couldn’t be faked or redeemed twice.
The Results
- 100 high value customers stepped up to the challenge to earn over $1,000 in credit
- Jackpot winners every day with crowds that cheered on players and shared on social
- Priceless memories created for their high value customers
Culture Kings proved that experiences beat deep discounts: high‑value customers were rewarded for spending in store and Shopify POS UI extensions made the “Double or Nothing Challenge” seamless and repeatable.
Ready to make your store the stage?
Discover how Shopify POS UI extensions can connect any in-store experience to a fast, secure checkout with instant rewards your community will love.
