A store refurbishment changes how a brand feels in person. Its online imagery should reflect that same investment.
For Allbirds Marylebone, we created a new Google Maps virtual tour connecting the shopfront with the refreshed interior. The brief was to show the store’s current design and colours, help people recognise its location on the high street and make the walkthrough feel natural from the first step inside.
Allbirds’ emphasis on everyday comfort, simple design and natural materials gave the project a clear direction: a bright, welcoming online visit that lets the space and products speak for themselves.
For retail marketing and store development teams, the project illustrates a wider challenge. A carefully designed shop can still be represented online by imagery from years before its latest refurbishment.
| Project | Allbirds Marylebone |
|---|---|
| Location | 46 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 5HQ |
| Previous imagery | March 2020, showing the earlier interior |
| New capture | September 2026, by 360 View |
| Coverage | Street context, shopfront, entrance and refreshed retail interior |
| Focus | Detailed imagery, faithful colour and a connected route through the store |
The same store, a different first impression
The previous virtual tour, dated March 2020, showed an earlier version of the interior, including the pale wall panels and previous display arrangement. Following the refurbishment, those views no longer reflected the space customers would walk into.
Our September 2026 tour shows the updated design, warmer timber tones, product displays and open floor space. Careful capture and editing bring out the store’s brightness while keeping its colours faithful to the space.
Explore both versions below to see how the store and its online presentation have changed. Both the refurbishment and the photographic presentation contribute to the difference you can see.
Then: March 2020
The interactive virtual tour above is embedded directly from Google Maps. Click and drag, or swipe on your phone, to look around. Click or tap the navigation arrows to move through the store.
Now: September 2026
The refreshed store, captured by 360 View. Start outside and follow the route through the entrance into the shop. Experience the full virtual tour directly on Google Maps.
Start on the high street. Take a look around.
A useful store tour should help you understand how to get there as well as what is inside.
For Allbirds Marylebone, we included exterior panoramas showing the shopfront and surrounding buildings. These give visitors visual reference points, so they can recognise the entrance when they arrive.
From there, the tour continues through the doorway and into the store. We planned the viewpoints and connections around the route a person would naturally take on a visit, making it easy to understand how each part of the space connects.
Visitors can look around the displays, get a feel for the layout and explore at their own pace.
That is an important part of our approach to virtual tours for retail stores and showrooms: the visitor should be able to appreciate the products and understand the store at the same time.
The care behind a premium retail virtual tour
Wall finishes, product colours, lighting and display arrangements are part of the presentation a retail team has invested in. The photography needs to communicate them carefully.
For Allbirds, our capture and editing focused on the refreshed interior’s warmth and brightness, keeping its colours faithful to the space. Planned viewpoints give the displays room to be seen while retaining the surrounding context. The connections between those views make the route understandable.
This combination of experienced photography, careful editing and natural navigation is central to our work. A high-quality image is valuable, but the whole tour needs to feel considered, from finding the entrance to moving around the shop.
An outdated interior, soft detail or distracting capture artefacts can undermine the impression a brand intends to create. Reviewing a tour after a refurbishment is an opportunity to improve both its accuracy and the experience of exploring it.
Retail experience shaped around each store
The right approach depends on what has changed and what customers need to discover.
Our Rails Notting Hill project shows how we presented a changed store arrangement following expansion. At Ace & Tate Brewer Street, the focus included eyewear displays and navigation across two floors.
At Allbirds, the priorities were the refurbishment, the current interior presentation and a connected arrival from the street. These projects show how we adapt coverage to the store and the visitor’s journey.
For brands planning several locations, we can discuss a shared brief for presentation, coverage and delivery, then adapt the route to each shop. Consistency should mean a dependable quality standard while preserving each location’s character.
Support that continues as the store changes
A virtual tour captures a moment in a business’s life. Interiors change. Displays move. Stores are refurbished or relocated. What happens to the tour afterwards matters too.
At 360 View, our service continues beyond capture and delivery. We provide support with new photography, replacement tours and the removal of tours we have published through accounts we control, when a client asks us to take them down. Where imagery belongs to another contributor, we can help with the appropriate removal request and explain what is possible.
We agree the scope of updates and maintenance clearly, so clients know what is included and what a future change will involve.
That continuity is part of the value of choosing a professional virtual tour partner: someone who understands your space, presents it carefully and remains available when it is time to update it.
Google Maps virtual tours for retail stores: frequently asked questions
When should a retail store update its Google Maps virtual tour after a refurbishment?
A retail store should update its Google Maps virtual tour when a refurbishment changes the entrance, layout, décor or main display areas enough to give online visitors an outdated impression. At Allbirds Marylebone, 360 View created a new tour in September 2026 because the March 2020 imagery showed the earlier interior. The need for new photography depends on what has changed, rather than the age of the tour alone.
What should a retail brand check when comparing professional 360° virtual tours?
When comparing professional 360° virtual tours, retail brands should assess image detail, faithful colour, consistent exposure, clean image joins and natural navigation throughout the store. Check bright windows, darker corners and the floor beneath the camera for distracting artefacts. Follow the walkthrough from the entrance to the displays. The quality of a retail virtual tour depends on photography, editing and route planning together, not just the opening image.
Why should a Google Street View store tour include the shopfront and surrounding street?
A Google Street View store tour should include the shopfront and relevant street surroundings to help customers recognise the entrance and understand where the shop sits among neighbouring buildings. For Allbirds Marylebone, 360 View connected exterior panoramas with the interior walkthrough. This gives prospective visitors a continuous route from identifying the store on the high street to exploring its refreshed retail space.
What makes a retail 360° walkthrough feel natural to navigate?
A retail 360° walkthrough feels natural when connected viewpoints follow a recognisable walking route, preserve orientation and make the next step easy to understand. Camera positions need to account for doorways, corners and displays, as well as attractive views. For the Allbirds Marylebone virtual tour, 360 View planned a route from outside the shop through the entrance and around the interior, reflecting how a customer would visit in person.
How can a retail chain maintain consistent virtual tour quality across multiple stores?
A retail chain can maintain consistent virtual tour quality by agreeing a shared photography and delivery brief covering colour, exposure, shopfront coverage, navigation and image review. Each store still needs a route adapted to its layout and key displays. 360 View can scope Google Maps virtual tours across multiple locations around these shared requirements, with access, timings and future update arrangements agreed for the project.
Does changing a product display require a completely new Google Maps virtual tour?
Changing a product display does not always require a completely new Google Maps virtual tour. A minor merchandising change may leave the walkthrough useful, while a moved department or redesigned layout can make it misleading. 360 View can assess whether selected areas need recapturing or a fuller update is appropriate, considering visual consistency, connected navigation and how accurately the tour represents the current store.
Does publishing a new Google Maps virtual tour remove an older Street View tour?
Publishing a new Google Maps virtual tour does not automatically remove an older Street View tour contributed by another photographer. 360 View can remove imagery published through accounts we control and help with removal requests for other contributors’ imagery. Removal of third-party content depends on the contributor or Google’s review. Retail teams should include existing-tour ownership and removal arrangements in the brief for a replacement tour.
Can a Google Maps virtual tour be embedded on a retailer’s individual store pages?
A Google Maps virtual tour can be embedded on a retailer’s website so customers can explore a store without leaving its location page. 360 View can provide the tour’s embed code and a shareable link in the agreed delivery format. For a retail chain, each store page should display the matching location’s walkthrough, with a starting view that helps visitors recognise the entrance or understand the interior.
What aftercare does 360 View provide for retail Google Maps virtual tours?
360 View provides aftercare for retail Google Maps virtual tours, including advice on outdated imagery, new photography after store changes, replacement tours and removal of imagery managed through accounts we control. Support, maintenance and future capture work are scoped under the agreed service terms. This gives retail teams a provider to contact when a store is refurbished, relocated or needs its published tour taken down.
Bring the same care to your next store tour
Whether you are refreshing one flagship or planning tours across several locations, we can help present your stores with detailed photography, natural navigation and a clear plan for future updates.
Send us your store locations, existing tour links and any opening or refurbishment dates. Tell us what customers need to see and which aspects of your brand presentation matter most. We will use that information to recommend coverage and prepare a scoped quotation.
