While younger cohorts are accustomed to buying online, they still appreciate the unique experiences and service offered through IRL retail. After tracking this behaviour in our Shopping Sector Snapshot, Canvas8 spoke to nine UK Gen Zers to understand what would entice them back into stores.

Despite the pandemic accelerating the death of the British high street, Lush is opening a store in Leicester that it hopes will reinstate the high street as a place of community. With a focus on sustainability to court eco-shoppers, concept stores and retailtainment can help restore town centres.

Hourglass Cosmetics has launched its Curator Eyeshadow collection with an immersive pop-up experience for shoppers, letting them curate their own palettes in-store. With people increasingly looking for experience-based retail, the brand is cannily giving consumers both creativity and choice.

COVID-19 has led to an uplift in e-commerce, and customers are planning to keep much of their shopping online way beyond the pandemic’s end. Canvas8 spoke to brand expert Mark Pilkington, author of Retail Recovery, about the role bricks and mortar stores will play for consumers in the future.