After years of digital acceleration, store closures and experimental formats, physical retail is entering a new phase — one defined less by experiential spectacle and more by service, relevance and emotional resonance. By 2026, most consumers will assume that product availability, price comparison and delivery speed can be solved online. What remains unresolved, however, is how brands make people feel when they step inside a store, and whether that feeling is compelling enough to justify the trip.
An appealing window display no doubt draws a customer in. But in 2026, the reason they’ll stay is because of a sales associate who remembers their upcoming trips; a curation that feels distinct, with limited-edition capsules from a tight list of brand partners; a comfortable seating area; a new installation from a local artist; or a coffee shop-slash-smoothie bar to relax and catch up with your shopping buddy. None of this is reinventing the wheel, but experts say brands and retailers need to focus on sharpening their execution with details that make each store visit feel unique, without sacrificing the sale.
We spoke to retail experts and cultural curators about what customers want from physical retail in 2026.
Create experiences — just don’t call it experiential
For years, experiential retail has been the industry’s go-to response to declining footfall. But insiders say the word itself has lost meaning, even if the underlying strategy is more important than ever. “I think we’re over the name ‘experiential’, but we’re not over the action — on the contrary, we’re just at the beginning of it,” says Stavros Karelis, founder and buying director at London concept store Machine-A. “Customers are a bit numb to fashion right now, so it’s difficult to get them excited about things. That’s why it’s still so important to create an emotional connection through exceptional and unique services.” This could include personal shopping and styling sessions, or an immersive art installation that makes the experience memorable.
Model and creative Kat Qiu opened her concept store VoyeurVoyeur in East London last year as a destination to make shopping fun again. “People [are] bored and want to locate themselves both physically and intellectually somewhere they enjoy. Retail becomes part of how they socialize,” says Qiu. At VoyeurVoyeur, this most recently looked like an in-store party that featured free tattoos from an artist working out of its central, one-way-mirrored changing cubicle (the person inside can see out, but no one can see in).
Food and beverage also remains an effective way of keeping customers in store for longer. Sarah Andelman, founder of consultancy Just An Idea and formerly Paris concept store Colette, points to continued novelty as key to preventing these spaces from feeling formulaic. “The way to make it feel new is by offering something you didn’t have last month — yes, we have the new collection, but also in the café we just launched a matcha collaboration with this guy from Japan that’s available for only one month,” she suggests. Ralph Lauren’s Ralph’s Coffee chain consistently does very well, she says.
Others are leaning into art, design and culture. Jacquemus’s LA store features vintage jewelry, while its London location offers art from the designer’s personal collection. JW Anderson has expanded its assortment beyond fashion into lifestyle and cultural products. Andelman recalls Tiffany’s Basquiat installation displayed in its New York flagship in 2023, which turned the store into a cultural destination rather than a simple point of sale.
While many brands have long talked about turning stores into ‘lifestyle destinations’, that ambition has rarely translated into formats that genuinely extend how consumers use retail spaces. But recent openings point to where physical retail is heading next. In October, Frasers Group opened a Liverpool flagship for Sports Direct, complete with an Everlast gym on the top floor that includes a Hyrox station, a reformer Pilates studios, as well as saunas and ice baths. Kith’s London post, which opened in November, features a restaurant with pastrami sandwiches and caviar sliders, a cereal and ice cream bar, and a cultural hub with a premium sound system.
By 2026, experts expect more brands to adopt a truly multi-purpose retail model, where stores function as social venues, wellness spaces or cultural hubs.
Localize in a globalized world
Major groups are scaling back their store networks, in part because top customers increasingly visit the same flagship locations across cities. If a customer can buy the same product in London, Paris and Shanghai, what motivates them to walk into the store while abroad? The answer lies in hyper-local storytelling.
Andelman points to Louis Vuitton’s flagship differentiation. “Even if it’s the same products, the approach is different — in New York, you have the books with the coffee, or there are different chefs working in each city, whether it’s Paris or somewhere in Asia,” she says. Another example is the brand’s different window installations across different cities, created in collaboration with artist Yayoi Kusama. “These little moments can attract content online and bring attention to you, because people come in to discover the architecture, the exclusivity of the service, or even the chocolates for Valentine’s Day,” she says. Collaborations with brands on exclusive products are likely to become even more competitive for retailers, as limited-availability drops draw attention and drive sales.
Relevance can also be built by responding to what’s happening outside the store. “Another way to keep the store experience feeling new is to embrace what’s happening in your city,” Andelman continues. “If it’s the US Open, a marathon, or Milan Design Week, it’s great to be reactive and show you’re part of your city.”
Bring back old-school customer service
After a period of online obsession, the pendulum is swinging back. Experts say the biggest opportunities to offer a luxury retail experience involve reviving old-school services.
Retail consultant Robert Burke points to the importance of personal shoppers. Last year, long-time Neiman Marcus personal stylist Catherine Bloom — who had her own dedicated boutique, Bloom’s Room — was poached by Nordstrom to become director of luxury styling. At Bergdorf Goodman, Linda’s shop-in-shop, curated by fashion director Linda Fargo, offers unique products not offered anywhere else in the store. “Creating that unique shopping experience by a fashion expert really connects the store to the customer,” says Burke, noting that customers from across the US and Europe travel to Bergdorf Goodman just to go to Linda’s store.
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Karelis expects bespoke services to return. “I think we’re going to go back to a more traditional retail environment, whether that’s through personalized experiences, craft or bespoke tailoring services — something we saw back in the day that we stopped offering,” he says.
For smaller brands without luxury budgets, there are ways to adapt this model. “A lot of brands create versatile spaces, which are essentially a showroom, a retail space and a design studio in one. It’s nothing new, but it allows them to consolidate the costs and expenses while having an open window to the customer, who can then visit the brand in its own world,” Karelis adds. There’s no need to overextend or mimic bigger competitors. Audiences often enjoy feeling part of a brand’s growth journey.
Make stores functional again
Beyond emotional engagement, practicality still matters — and many experts believe customers are ready to return to in-store shopping for exactly that reason. But functionality shouldn’t come at the expense of aesthetics.
“I often find that many physical retail spaces focus either on form or function. They either look beautifully impractical, or practically ugly,” Qiu says. At VoyeurVoyeur, she has fused function and aesthetic in a number of ways, including with a dramatic mirrored changing room that shows the clothes from all angles, while playing on the store’s name. Qiu is also planning a plush seating arrangement, after noticing that so many luxury boutiques lack a comfortable space to try on shoes, despite footwear being a key revenue driver.
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Andelman also expects certain hype-driven tactics to lose their appeal. “I don’t think people want to see the line around the shops anymore, as if you’re waiting at the airport,” she jokes. While queues may attract passers-by, repeat customers are less interested in waiting to spend their money.
Use AI in the background
While artificial intelligence is transforming retail operations, experts agree that its role in luxury should remain largely invisible to the customer. “I don’t think that AI is at the point right now to replace the personal shopper and that personal interaction,” says Burke. “I’m sure it can be supportive in many ways, but I still think this human relationship is extremely important when it comes to buying luxury items.”
Karelis agrees, pointing to operational applications as the most valuable use cases. “AI is an important tool to implement in your business — that’s the future and we really cannot avoid it — but we need to learn how to use it correctly,” he says. In retail, that means predictive analysis, customer service data and inventory management. “It’s primarily the back end of the business.”
For consumers, the best AI may be the kind they never notice — powering availability, speed and relevance, while leaving the emotional connection firmly in human hands.
Despite a shaky retail landscape over the past few years, experts are confident about the approach for 2026: going back to basics, and executing that well. “2025 was a turbulent year, but I think in 2026, the brands and retailers that stay focused at what they do best — and on their customers — are going to win,” says Burke.
