Sabrina Faramarzi is a trend forecaster, futures researcher and journalist who’s obsessed with all things trend, innovation and design. When she’s not uncovering patterns across socio-cultural phenomena, she can be found at the latest electronic music night, swimming marathon lengths at her local pool, or worshipping cats on the internet.

Makua Adimora is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8. After completing her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, she shifted her focus to culture journalism. Eventually, her curious nature drew her to cultural insights – a happy marriage between her love for media strategy and culture research. In her spare time, she can be found stacking up make-up samples at Sephora or listening to the latest Don Toliver album.

In 2021, as the world slowly crawled out of lockdowns, weary consumers sought new meaning in their daily routines. Concerns about 

 prompted eco-conscious consumers to look for ways to reduce their impact on the planet, with 

 actively reducing the number of products they buy. Meanwhile, having grown accustomed to e-commerce during the pandemic, 

 say they are now willing to pay more for elevated shopping experiences. Many have warmed up to 

 and social commerce, which provide fresh avenues for product discovery and purchasing. “Social commerce is important because it’s the new town square,” says Shopify president 

 enable users to buy directly through their platforms, and YouTube is increasingly exploring 

, highlighting the growing role of social media in purchasing decisions.

As we edge further into a post-pandemic world, it’s still uncertain what retail channels shoppers are more likely to choose. It’s estimated that 

 globally will still be made in physical locations by 2024, and some brands have sought to tap into the renewed appreciation for 

. Yet amid continued uncertainty, hybrid options that maximise convenience will remain important in 2022 and beyond. Shoppers are simultaneously looking for brands to provide immersive, in-person experiences and keep them safe. 

 is responding by resetting its retail strategy to entice customers back to brick-and-mortar locations in a manner that complements rather than competes with e-commerce, signalling a shift towards event retail.

In this chapter of Canvas8’s 2022 Expert Outlook, futurist Doug Stephens explores the concept of retail as media, consultant Ian Scott delves into consumerism in a phygital age, and 2sight co-founder Elodie Marteau weighs in on the rewilding process of retail spaces.

Shopping will become a byproduct of being constantly connected

Doug Stephens is a leading author, retail futurist, and the founder and president of advisory firm Retail Prophet.

What has changed in the shopping sector over the past year?

One of the big shifts throughout the pandemic was a greater dispersion of retail into virtually every format. Whether I'm watching a movie on Netflix or a video on TikTok or looking at a post on Instagram, all of these things have a commercial element to them now. The pandemic took this notion of centralising retail, threw it in the wind, and said, ‘look, retail can exist anywhere’. Retail can exist in every single experience that a consumer might be having online because we now have the means to build it in. The competition now for any retailer is anything that commands a share of time, attention, or wallet from consumers.

But I think it's important to recontextualise what we were seeing pre-pandemic – a historic transformation taking place in the retail industry with respect to the relative purposes of both media and physical stores. While some were calling this ‘omnichannel’, we were seeing it as a fundamental trading of roles between those two entities in the marketplace. For centuries, retailers had gone out on the open market and purchased media with the intent of driving people to a point of distribution – whether that was a physical store or, more recently, a website. We are seeing a shift towards the idea that media, in fact, is the store. Media was really beginning – in the consumer's mind at least – to fulfil many of the fundamental functions of retail, such as displaying products, providing product information, and giving consumers the means to confidently and efficiently purchase goods directly through media.

So, this began the debate around the relevance and importance of physical stores. If media is becoming the store, then why even bother having physical stores? But what we are observing is that physical stores are really becoming an important form of media in themselves. In fact, they are a cost-effective, manageable, and highly measurable channel through which brands can engage consumers, connect, share their value propositions and their values as brands, and really bring consumers into their ecosystem. The pandemic really pulled society, and certainly retail as an industry, across the digital threshold.

What predictions do you have for your sector in 2022?

We are becoming increasingly tethered to technology, and that's obvious to all of us. We're spending more time online, we’re more engaged with online content, we're receiving more and more of our information, entertainment, communication, and community from online sources. So, these opportunities to shop are like passing cars on a highway each day for us, and things pop into our consciousness. This is how we’re increasingly learning about new brands – discovering new products simply by being present online. I also think that what we crave at the heart of it all – because we are emotional, physiological, and sensory creatures – are experiences that are unique, memorable, and pleasurable.

While one could argue that retailers ought to be investing disproportionate amounts of their budgets on digital, I would argue just the opposite. I think that you certainly have to play aggressively in the digital sphere. You have to be digitally capable and you have to give consumers the means to engage with your brand online. But it doesn't negate the power, value, and effectiveness of physical retail experiences.

A cross-channel presence has never been more important for brands

People expect digital experiences within IRL stores

Ian Scott is an independent retail consultant who offers a range of services to help retailers and brands gain insights, understanding, and focus for their store projects.

The pandemic resulted in government intervention to close physical stores, which then facilitated a massive change within retail because there was a huge move to online. While some brands were able to embrace and develop this, others struggled to cope. The proactive brands have adjusted very quickly, and some of them were already well-matured in their digital offers. So, we were finding people were buying online because there was nowhere else to buy products.

There was huge growth in certain areas within home improvement as well as the online grocery market because bars and restaurants were closed. So, what you saw was grocers reacting to that gap in the market. I think particularly for those two sectors, we’re seeing a lot of people getting used to online, and we've seen the growth of things like click-and-collect where you're ordering online and collecting in store.

What we're seeing is what I call a symbiosis, where shrewd brands understand that it's not either/or for every customer. We all go into stores and we all shop online and it's not even the balance of power between them. It's the fact that customers want to be able to discover, engage, and buy from a brand in any way they want to. And if you ask them, they still couldn't tell you exactly how they want to shop because humans are fickle, we're inconsistent, we're emotionally driven. So, clever brands need to make all of their channels available using the same tone of voice, the same range of products, the same service, and the same price because that customer will flip between the app, the phone, the exhibition stand, the store, and will merge them all together.

I think as we start to settle down and shops become more open and accessible, we're getting some of that balance back between physical and online stores. But I think it’s not when the pandemic is gone, but when the fear of the pandemic has gone that you’d start to see natural behaviour. So, we may be 18 months, two years away from really seeing that balance.

What we're seeing with some brands is their spaces are evolving and improving so that they're becoming more meaningful as a physical thing. Some brands are reshaping their physical space to make the most of the uniqueness of that space while also evolving their digital offering not only to make it seamless, but also to interact with the physical space. There’s a shop in Brazil that is an electrical retailer. You go into the store and you try products, get demonstrations, and then, in the store, you can go online, order it, and Uber delivers it to your house in two hours. That's a great example of the channels working together seamlessly to make it suitable for consumers.

People’s shopping habits are still adjusting in the wake of COVID-19

People expect stores to be cultural and community spaces

Elodie Marteau is a foresight strategist and co-founder of 2sight

We cannot ignore that consumers seem increasingly conscious and on an urgent quest for sustainable products. I definitely agree that conversations around sustainability and eco-consumption are at the forefront of the scene. However, we cannot ignore the fact that shopping and hyper-consumption are still thriving, and they even did during the pandemic. To me, sustainable consumption is massively turning to conspicuous consumption. Look at how fashion and luxury brands launched expensive accessories to hold refillable water bottles in a stylish way last year. I feel that being aware and conscious about the negative impact of our consumption on the planet is becoming a status symbol.

What I’ve seen emerging around this topic is the rewilding of retail spaces, which means bringing a sense of nature back to the shopping environment. I am not saying that this is a sustainable or regenerative consumption model, but it feels like consumers are definitely reclaiming a sense of nature in their shopping journeys, especially after several lockdowns.

Another shift we’ve seen in the shopping environment this year is the growing presence of proximity solutions – a shift that is directly linked to how our cities are built and designed. After the pandemic outbreak, it apparently seemed that everyone escaped the cities and left them dead. I think what’s really changing here is that the city as we know it is over. There is an interesting concept called the 15-minute city that we will see more and more. It is basically a change of scale – a shift towards more human-scale design, where cities become almost like villages with services, culture, arts, wellbeing facilities, learning, and education, which are accessible to everyone within a 15-minute walk. In this context, shopping is becoming increasingly local. We are seeing big brands and conglomerates turning back to proximity formats that encourage local shopping.

Among my predictions for 2022 is the notion of ‘hosping’. The word, a combination of ‘shopping’ and ‘hospitality’, marks the passage from the era of transactional exchange to relational experiences. Boutiques are taking inspiration from hotels to inject a sense of human touch and interaction at the heart of the shopping experience in our dominant contactless business environment. The store is being redefined as a space for sociability and gathering.

Brands and retailers will have to align dramatically with consumer expectations. 

 revealed a growing disconnect between what people desire from shopping experiences and what retailers believe they want. It outlined a preference for ‘showrooming’ but also a need for simple and frictionless shopping journeys and flexible payment options. On the other hand, the report showed that retailers’ priorities do not value the same criteria. So, it will be key for them to align with consumer expectations for speed, convenience, belonging, and inspiration.

I also think in this so-called passion/creator economy, there is a need for consumers to be more involved in shopping experiences and become almost like privileged stakeholders within organisations’ ecosystems. I love the design installation project called ‘Loving Objects’ that elevates a shopping experience to a ceremonial event, almost like a marriage contract between shoppers and their purchases. It is obviously very speculative but it reminds me of this need for more direct interactions and relationships between brands and consumers.

Brick-and-mortar spaces remain influential in an increasingly digital world

How our mindsets will shape the shopping sector

For the Culture Steward, shopping is about ethics and community with a localised flair. “If a consumer wants something, they can find 15 different versions of it online within five minutes and have three of them on their doorstep tomorrow morning. What's more difficult is to feel that you're part of a community of customers,” says Stephens. This sense of engagement and understanding of their locality is important to the Culture Steward. Some big brands have taken note. 

Aldi’s entrance into the Chinese market

 demonstrated how Western brands can cater to local preferences by adopting culturally-familiar retail cues, while 

, originally an Australian brand that lost relevance Down under when it went global, is switching its focus back to home ground.

When it comes to local brands, understanding nuances is key. When 

H&M decided to stop using Xinjiang cotton

 in protest against China’s treatment of Uyghur people, it received a significant backlash from Chinese consumers, culminating in the closure of stores across the country. 

Prada also received backlash from Chinese consumers

 in October when it was accused of ‘luxury-washing’ community areas and tactless ‘virtue-signalling’.

For the Systems Sceptic, shopping is a way to help streamline their lives, but sustainability is their top priority. “There is a lot of greenwashing happening, but people are starting to understand the full lifecycle of a product and asking things like ‘where did these raw materials come from? What happens to them while we use them? What happens afterwards?’” says Scott. These are the kinds of details and commitments that the Systems Sceptic looks for from brands. British supermarket chain 

Morrisons acquired a stake in a recycling plant

 to improve the journey of hard-to-recycle plastics – particularly important when waste reduction and sustainable packaging are so important to grocery shoppers. When it comes to products, the Systems Sceptic wants all or nothing – like 

For the Contrarian, shopping is a social activity and is often better with friends. “I think once we fully emerge from the pandemic and consumers feel freer to go out and experience things in the physical world, we're going to see a true renaissance in physical retail, where retail is more of a form of entertainment than strictly commerce,” says Stephens. The pandemic helped bridge the gap between entertainment and shopping, and consumers are now more adaptable than ever when it comes to experiencing commerce in new places. From 

recommendations from a brand’s employees

, the Contrarian wants to be able to join in, have fun, and relate to the people they are buying from, whether online or IRL.

The ENG concept store in Shanghai is filled with works from guest artists and takes shoppers on an immersive, inspiring journey via live performances and holographic projections. It also has 24/7 vending machines through which consumers can conveniently purchase products.

 is a brand that rents out pop-up spaces by the hour, enabling digital brands to creatively experiment with physical retail.

 employs actors to present available products to shoppers, curating an innovative experience at its retail space.

Elodie Marteau's work consists of helping businesses identify opportunities to future-proof their brands and marketing strategies. She is passionate about cultures, unlocking new consumer insights, and understanding emerging attitudes and behaviours, and specialises in consumer research, strategic foresight, and trends intelligence consultancy.

Global

Shopping

How are media channels shaping the way we shop? What can brands do to make the convergence of physical and digital retail more seamless? And how are store spaces adapting to consumers’ shifting needs? In this part of the 2022 Expert Outlook, we speak to three experts about the future of shopping.

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