Retail

From groceries to placemaking, a wide-ranging exploration of the retail industry

Trends : Micro Trends

Furniture as a Service

By Peter Maxwell 01 : 10 : 2018 Retail : Furniture : Hospitality

With consumers less willing and less able to establish permanent homes, furniture brands are having to develop products and services that don’t rely on ownership.

Studio Stores:

Faced with declining footfall and fallout from coronavirus, retailers are reclaiming their stores as multimedia hubs for content creation.

Retail : Media : E-commerce

Four ways retail is becoming a phygital playground:

Innovative applications of established technologies are creating multi-layered, mixed-reality retail experiences that merge digital and...

Retail : Phygital : Fashion

Squadded recreates the mall effect online:

Elysa Kahn, co-founder of Squadded, highlights the potential for the new social e-commerce solution and the difference between shopping...

Retail : Fashion : E-commerce

Makers Market:

As craft culture and the hobby renaissance build momentum, retail opportunities abound for a wave of consumer businesses founded by makers.

DIY : Retail : Craft

Flagship Fulfilment:

As consumers continue to value speed, retail brands are doubling down on the ways supply chains, logistics and fulfilment can enhance...

Retail : Technology : Logistics

Digital Architects:

A new tribe of consumers are curating fresh digital eco-systems to create new opportunities to engage with brands in a meaningful way.

Tribes : Consumers

Feedback Frontiers:

As communications with consumers become more circular and conversational, brands are treating every micro-interaction as a valuable...

Retail : E-commerce : Digital

Webinar: Covid-19 Future Planning:

A 30-minute webinar examining the pandemic’s impact across key sectors, and the steps to future-proof strategies for your organisation...

Society : Covid-19 : Retail

Covid-19 Contingency Planning:

Learn the immediate impacts of Covid-19 across key sectors, and discover best-in-class case studies and future considerations for your...

Covid-19 : Society : Health

Discovery Grocers:

Online grocers are putting personalisation at the heart of their offering, from curated shopping baskets to SMS advisers.

Retail : Food : Technology

Eco-ambitious Retail:

Brands are self-imposing sustainability goals on their businesses that – while initially financially impactful – validate them as...

Retail : Sustainability : Brand 2020

Consumer Surveillance Market:

Originally created as a means for retailers to generate targeted ads, consumer surveillance has evolved into a lucrative eco-system to...

Retail : Data : Surveillance

How circular retail could create new cashless economies:

Fashion futurist and professor Karinna Nobbs proposes that digital retail experiences can be exchanged for unwanted physical products.

Retail : Sustainability : Circular Economy

SMS is changing the face of customer service:

Brands and retailers are using SMS to offer their expertise as a personal service rather than to simply encourage customers to buy more...

Retail : Customer Service : Technology

Experiential luxury malls:

Shedding their teen hangout reputation, retail centres are being given an experiential upgrade as operators set their sights on affluent...

Luxury : Retail : Architecture

Piercing Pioneers:

Brands are modernising the coming-of-age ritual of piercing for a new generation of teenagers who are keen to experiment with their...

Retail : Youth : DTC

DTC Directories:

A crop of third-party platforms are offering new ways to filter through the growing number of digital and direct-to-consumer brands.

Retail : DTC : Shopping

Generation Z Stores:

A youth boom is set to shake up bricks-and-mortar shopping, so retailers must adapt their strategies to meet the unique preferences of...

Retail : Generation Z : Shopping

Diving into Lush’s phygital experiments:

Charlotte Nisbet talks about the brand’s phygital retail experiments, from packaging-free stores and recyclable shop fit-outs to machine...

Retail : Beauty : Technology

Accessible Retail Market:

Retailers are investing in the accessibility of their physical and digital channels to support the needs of disabled and neurodiverse...

Retail : Inclusivity : Implicit Inclusivity

Exploring future scenarios powered by 5G:

As we enter a new decade, LS:N Global speculates about the impact and transformative use cases of 5G across sectors including retail,...

Technology : 5G : Far Futures

Obsess is upending the e-commerce interface:

Neha Singh, founder and CEO of experiential e-commerce platform Obsess, on the power of discovery to shape the future of retail.

Retail : Youth : Technology

Circular store design:

Consumers’ increasing interest in sustainable living is reflected in new retail destinations, where materials, design details and...

Retail : Sustainability : Design

Vegan Home Market:

Consumers are turning to animal-free homewares and services to ensure every aspect of their plant-based lifestyles are aligned with...

Retail : Sustainability : Vegan

The frictionless future of grocery retail:

In the wake of Amazon Go, grocery retailers are exploring how in-store technology can streamline the purchasing process.

Retail : Supermarkets : Technology

The anti-choice homeware movement:

Overwhelmed by choice, Millennials are turning to brands that offer a streamlined, limited approach to homeware shopping.

Retail : Sustainability : Homeware

Home Cleaning Market:

With the rise of glossy domestic influencers and design-led, eco-friendly start-ups, the mindful act of cleaning has never been more...

Cleaning : Health : Wellness

Secondary Waste Retail:

New retail systems are professionalising the waste sector, transforming it into a consumer-facing currency and future new economy.

Retail : Fashion : Sustainability

Mirrored Realms:

As reality becomes more programmable, a visual aesthetic is being defined that reflects the artificiality of the virtual world alongside...

Programmable Realities : Immaterial Fashion : Virtual

Re-usable Packaging Market:

Growing concern about the environmental impact of plastic packaging is driving innovations in re-usable and refill concepts among...

Retail : Packaging : Sustainability

Are deep fakes the future of personalised advertising?:

AI is enabling a new form of hyper-personal influencer marketing. MSc Strategic Fashion Management graduates Helen Wang and Joanna...

Advertising : Retail : AI

Peer Platforms:

A trust deficit between shoppers and brands is driving the rise of community-led platforms where purchasing tips and style advice are...

Retail : E-commerce : Peer To Peer

Streamlining phygital retail:

Brian Bolke, founder of The Conservatory, on this tech-enabled store’s strategy to assimilate the changing retail landscape.

Retail : Luxury : Digital

Eco-logistics:

In a bid to reduce the growing environmental impact of e-commerce, retailers are rethinking their logistics and developing new...

Packaging : Sustainability : Retail

How mobility is transforming last-mile delivery:

Autonomous driving technology promises to have a transformative impact on how we receive our purchases.

Retail : Delivery : Automotive

Community Commerce:

A new wave of decentralised retail concepts are transforming e-commerce as consumers look for alternative ways to access and exchange...

Retail : Media : Entertainment

China E-commerce Market:

With retail sales set to surpass those in the US in 2019, China is now the largest e-commerce market in the world and is at the...

Retail : China : E-commerce

African E-commerce Market:

Increased internet access and a booming youth population are driving the continent’s unique and burgeoning online retail market,...

E-Commerce : Africa : Retail

Is retailtainment the future of e-commerce?:

NTWRK is shaking up retail with its pop culture-powered video commerce app. Its CEO, Aaron Levant, discusses why hyper-urgency is the...

Retail : E-commerce : Media

Prescription Supermarkets:

Grocery retailers are assuming a new role as dietary advisers, educating consumers and providing personalised health and nutrition...

Retail : Healthcare : Nutrition

Physical retail is the key to conscious consumption:

Slow retail expert Rebekah Matheny on how physical stores need to nurture consumer relationships to create a socially sustainable retail...

Retail . : Sustainability : Retail

Virtual sonic worlds are the next branded experiences:

The Spatial Sound Institute is a research centre created by technology platform and artistic collective 4DSOUND. John Connell,...

Media : Digital : Retail

Are head office staff the new retail influencers?:

To help build consumer trust and product authenticity, brands are starting to focus more on insider advocates than external influencers.

Retail : Fashion : Social Media

How Coal Drops Yard captures a sense of place:

Chris Chapman, head of art at Droga5 London, on creating the visual identity for Coal Drops Yard, a new retail concept in London’s...

Retail : Placemaking : Branding

How the world’s largest online shopping mall is shaping our lives:

At Dutch Design Week 2018, designers from Design Academy Eindhoven hosted Geo-Design, an exhibition that examined the growth of Chinese...

Retail : E-commerce : Dutch Design Week

The studios making virtual retail a reality:

As mixed-reality commerce gathers pace, a growing community of creative digital studios are facilitating the transition from the...

Retail : VR : Digital Culture

Department Store Disruptors:

As stores with outdated value propositions continue to decline, new multi-brand retail formats are emerging that bridge the gap between...

Retail : E-commerce : Digital

Why flagship stores are the arcades of the future:

Gaming is creating a new breed of bold retail spaces that transcend language barriers, says Gilles Boissele, creative partner at UNIT9.

Retail : Fashion : Youth

Furniture as a Service:

With consumers less willing and less able to establish permanent homes, furniture brands are having to develop products and services...

Retail : Furniture : Hospitality

Rob Wood on why music is essential to brand experiences:

The creative director of Music Concierge explains how, by creating distinct audio identities for brands and retailers, music and...

Retail : Leisure : Hospitality

Shoppable Social:

Social commerce continues to grow as new technologies and in-platform features transform the way consumers buy and interact with products.

Retail : Socia Media : Digital

Inspiration per square foot:

The success of bricks-and-mortar retail is no longer determined by sales per square foot but the benefits of creating inspirational...

Storefront Salvation : Retail

Subconscious Commerce:

With Internet of Things technology creating newly immersive brand touchpoints and data analytics allowing businesses to anticipate every...

Retail : Automation : Technology

How malls can survive into the future:

The malls of the future will cater for specific audiences, appeal to a wide spectrum of ages and join the dots between e-commerce and...

Retail : Placemaking : Mall

Convenience Stores 2.0:

Corner stores are moving away from sugary snacks to offer fresh, organic and vegan alternatives, accessible to all 24/7.

Convenience : Retail : Vegan

Data ID Stores:

Future-facing bricks-and-mortar brands are personalising the store experience through the use of consumer data profiles.

Retail : Fashion : Food And Drink

Is there such a thing as a brandless brand?:

While there are clear imperatives for debranding, businesses still need to think of it as a design exercise.

Branding : Packaging : Retail

Why peer-to-peer lending is the future of interiors:

Harth co-founder Ed Padmore explains how the furniture sharing platform will benefit both designers and owners.

Hospitality : Retail : Furniture

Are digital payments luring us into debt?:

Retailers are increasingly offering point-of-sale loans to pay for non-essential goods.

Retail : Finance : Apparel

Office Stores:

Through new technological and physical touchpoints, FMCG brands are exploring the workplace as a profitable retail opportunity.

Retail : Convenience : Co-working

Why retailers and marketers need to take VR seriously:

Anita Fontaine and Geoffrey Lillemon, creative directors of Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam's Department of New Realities, blend speculative...

Retail : Technology : VR

Responsive Wayfinding:

Retailers are harnessing digital tools to bring the speed and convenience of navigating an online store to the physical...

Storefront Salvation : Retail : Placemaking

How can supermarkets cut down on plastic waste?:

The strategies food and drink retailers can use to reduce their reliance on the material.

Retail : Food And Drink : Packaging

Accessible Premium:

From taking the idea of the dollar store online to the rejection of big brands, retailers are exploring how they can democratise...

Retail : Digital : The American Middle

Storefront Salvation:

Fuelled by an understanding that saving the store relies on a combination of physical touchpoints and digital technology, retailers...

Retail : E-commerce : Digital

How the retail landscape will change in 2019:

With The Future Laboratory hosting its Retail Futures Forum on 3 May, we preview some of the key themes to be unveiled.

Retail : Technology : E-commerce

Bundled Buys:

From helping consumers navigate a seasonless fashion model to combating the resale market, luxury fashion brands are exploring the...

Luxury : Apparel : Retail

Micro-retail:

With convenience a key priority for consumers, brands are exploring the potential of dynamic selling spaces in non-traditional...

Retail : Digital : Technology

Voice Retail Market:

As voice-enabled devices continue to enter our homes, and consumers become increasingly comfortable with the idea of talking to...

Retail : Technology : Digital

Loyalty Market:

As consumers become less loyal, brands are looking to personalisation, cryptocurrencies and mobile-based initiatives in an effort to...

Retail : Digital : Technology

Should we start taking QR codes seriously?:

Once consigned to internet history, the iconic squares are finally ready for their revival.

Packaging : Retail : Advertising

Pricing Strategies: Part 1:

From price point activism to discounts based on demand, companies are embracing a more dynamic approach to pricing as a means of...

Retail : Wellness : Drink

Click and Connect:

With 40% of global shoppers now preferring to purchase clothing and footwear online, brands are exploring new ways to push the buying...

Retail : Apparel : Fashion

Pricing Strategies: Part 2:

Through a combination of data-collection and changing consumer demand, artificial intelligence is bringing new value to the idea of...

Retail : Fashion : Food

Live-stream Market:

From its potential as a tool to promote brand transparency to the integration of Buy Now buttons, brands are tapping into the lucrative...

Retail : Digital : Technology

How to future-proof the physical store:

Natalie Berg, retail analyst and founder of NBK Retail, on why stores should be seen as assets rather than liabilities.

Retail : E-commerce : Phygital

Digital Store Fronts:

The future of online shopping is being shaped by visual-first digital experiences.

Retail : Youth : Digital

Grocery AI-sles:

With 44% of jobs in the UK retail sector expected to be at risk of automation by the early 2030s, according to PwC, grocery brands are...

Retail : Digital : Technology

Augmented Retail:

As augmented and virtual reality continues to grow towards an expected market value of £80.3bn ($108bn, €91.3bn) by 2021, brands are...

Retail : Digital : Fashion

Liyia Wu on the Chinese live-stream retail revolution:

The ShopShops founder discusses how her platform offers a revelatory shopping experience that cannot be replicated by e-commerce.

Retail : Digital : Media

Ryan Elder on the power of distance in sensory marketing:

The associate professor of marketing at Brigham Young University reveals how the perceived distance of a sensory experience can impact...

Retail : Advertising : Marketing

Chinese Duty-free Retail Market:

Chinese tourists’ passion for duty-free shopping is making Asia-Pacific the engine of growth for the travel-retail sector.

Retail : Travel : Luxury

The future of airport retail is hyper-personalisation:

With vast amounts of passenger data tied up in boarding passes, let’s use it to transform the airport retail experience, says Lee...

Airport Retail : Duty Free : Customer Data

Related to Retail

Opinion

Retailers must digitise fashion for the Covid era

Bruno Antunes Luis, co-founder of Gaspard + Bruno, on how hyper-real digital solutions offer untapped ways to experience and interact with products virtually.

Fashion : Technology : Retail

News

Stat: UK shoppers habitually abandon digital baskets

According to new research by Klarna and BigCommerce, 38% of UK shoppers discard their online shopping basket at least once a week.

Retail : Online Shopping : Statistic

News

Yeezy’s immersive site upends digital storefronts

Kanye West has collaborated with Nick Knight on an immersive retail environment for Yeezy Supply.

Retail : E-commerce : Fashion

Tribes

Beauty Cultists

A new generation of hyper-loyal beauty consumers are building localised communities around their favourite brands.

Tribes : Beauty

News

Starbucks Japan signals support to the deaf community

Starbucks Japan has opened its first signing store for deaf and hard-of-hearing customers and employees.

Food And Drink : Inclusivity : Accessible

News

A folding bottle for sustainable sipping

Technology start-up DiFold has launched an Origami Bottle using collapsible design technology.

Retail : Health : Wellness

News

Stat: Beauty consumers wary of stores re-opening

As stores begin to re-open in the inter-Covid period, beauty buyers still feel uneasy about returning to bricks-and-mortar shopping.

Society : Beauty : Retail

Macro Trends

Recuperative Living

In the aftermath of Covid-19, consumers’ collective concerns about hygiene, wellbeing and immunity will drive new directions in beauty and wellness focused on phygital rehabilitation.

Beauty : Health : Wellness

News

Stat: Online shopping habits will outlast the pandemic

Since the pandemic began, consumers in the US have embraced e-commerce at a rapid and unprecedented rate, as per data from PYMENTS.com.

Retail : Covid-19 : Coronavirus

Markets

Pandemic Dining Market

As they respond to the coronavirus, restaurateurs have an opportunity to redesign future dining spaces and reclaim their role in the public realm.

Restaurants : Covid-19 : Food & Drink

News

Christopher Raeburn’s new collection is entirely circular

The designer is not creating any new garments for London Fashion Week’s digital event.

Fashion : Retail : London Fashion Week

News

The Future Laboratory braces retailers for a new normal

The Future Laboratory’s latest campaign brings to life the ways retail businesses can thrive during and beyond Covid-19.

Retail : Coronavirus : Covid-19

News

Stat: Social media shopping accelerates in China

New insight from eMarketer forecasts the growth potential of social commerce in China, as social platforms increasingly become storefronts.

Retail : Social Media : Technology

News

Pandora’s pledge for a recycled jewellery future

Jewellery brand Pandora is pledging to use only recycled silver and gold to make its future jewellery collections.

Retail : Jewellery Products : Sustainability

News

Stat: Food and drink spend proves immune to Covid-19

Euromonitor reports that food and non-alcoholic beverage is the only sector of the economy expected to post positive growth in 2020.

Food : Drink : Covid-19

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