Feels like home, somehow

What imm cologne reminded us about physical experience, digital responsibility, and how both shape Home & Living

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Walking through imm cologne felt familiar in an unexpected way. Not because of specific trends or formats, but because it quietly highlighted something fundamental about Home & Living: we experience this category very differently depending on where we are and how we engage with it.

Some experiences clearly belong to the physical world:

Seeing true colors and subtle variations that only become visible under real light. Touching surfaces and textures, understanding materials through the hand rather than the screen. Orienting oneself in space, sensing proportions, distances, and how objects relate to each other. Feeling atmosphere, warmth, and harmony, and noticing how a space changes when a single element is added or removed.

These moments cannot be meaningfully digitized. They require presence, movement, and time. This is where showrooms, fairs, and physical encounters remain unmatched. imm cologne made this tangible again. And for that reminder alone, it deserves appreciation.

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At the same time, other experiences clearly do not belong to the physical space.

Orientation. Comparison. Background research. Understanding how a product fits into a broader lifestyle beyond the single moment of encounter. These are not sensory experiences, but cognitive ones. They unfold over time, across contexts, and often long after the showroom visit is over.

This is where digital responsibility begins.

In conversations with exhibitors at imm cologne, one theme surfaced repeatedly. Where digital plays an important role, a lot of thought goes into how guidance and advisory quality can work online. Not as a substitute for physical experience, but as a complementary layer that helps people make sense of what they have seen and felt.

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This is not about adding more filters or refining categories. It is about taking responsibility for orientation. For helping people understand options, trade-offs, and relevance. For supporting decision-making rather than overwhelming it.

Which leads to a question worth sitting with:

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If the showroom is about feeling at home, what should digital be responsible for?

Not replacing the physical. Not copying it. But doing what it can do best. Digital responsibility means providing clarity where inspiration alone is not enough. It means structuring complexity, connecting products with context, and supporting people between the first spark and the final decision.

This matters for shopping in general, but especially in Home & Living. Few categories are as emotional, personal, and situational. And few benefit as much from orientation once the initial excitement fades and real-life considerations set in.

imm cologne did not answer these questions. But it made them visible again. And that, in itself, feels like progress.

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