Food trucks showed us at first how convenient it is, to have your business in your truck, so you can always be where your customers are.

This type of nomadic retail is now spreading over to other branches.

British designer Lee Broom recreated part of an Italian palazzo inside a delivery van for a travelling installation to showcase his latest lighting collection.

Instead of renting an exhibition place in a Milanese palazzo during the Salone del Automobile, he recreated a part of a palazzo inside his studio’s everyday delivery van, complete with corinthian columns and stuccoed details.

He drove the van  from London to Milan where it moved to various locations during the design week, including Brera Design District, Spazio Rossana Orlandi, ZonaTortona, San Gregorio Docet and Ventura Lambrate

Broom described the project as a “surreal roadshow”. “While deciding where I should exhibit I thought ‘what about everywhere?'” he said. “My designs are often surreal and the idea behind the installation is to see something unexpected – a captivating optical illusion.”

Another example of nomadic retailing is the American internet-based lingerie company True & Co. Their specific built Try-On-Truck is a nomadic fitting room, traveling across the country to allow women to try on lingerie in an intimate setting within public spaces

The online retailer initiated the project because it wanted a way for its customers to have a direct experience with its products. At the portable store, customers browse and try on undergarments with the help of personal assistants. They can then order merchandise, which is in turn shipped to them.

Personal interaction and physical contact are becoming something special in our online focused life. Instead of building up sales points in various locations which is connected with high costs and a lot of organisation, nomadic retailing is the logical answer.