The smartphone is at the center of most of our lives and increasingly at the center of our shopping experiences.

But what if tomorrow’s store is where shoppers go to unplug?

It’s a possibility that cannot be discounted, says Emily Miller, retail strategy leader at JLL Design. And that’s because for the youngest of shoppers — think Gen Alpha (born early 2010s) and Gen Z (1997-2012) — shopping without screens is something they’ve never really experienced.

And they like it.

“The newness is getting out off their couch, physically going to brick and mortar retail,” Miller tells the Space Planning Community. “And when they get there, they don't want it to be digital at all.”

So what can retail space planners do to meet younger shopper expectations? And what other trends is Miller noticing that space planners should be jumping on, now? We’ve got three insights below you won’t want to miss, and they’re all centered on one truth that should leave space planners warm and fuzzy: there is a tremendous opportunity to affect shopper behavior if store design meshes with the experiences shoppers are seeking.

Here are three trends to watch — with tips for space planners on how to put them into action.

1. Younger generations want their senses engaged in-store — think see, touch, feel, listen, smell, taste.

Let’s begin here: the smartphone isn’t going away in terms of its importance to omnichannel shopping. But there is mounting evidence that younger shoppers are engaging with the store in decidedly old-school ways. Browsing is in with Gen Alpha and Gen Z, with both groups liking to explore and test in-store.

“They want tactile sensory experiences when they get to brick and mortar retail,” Miller says. “It's really different, because all this time we've been optimizing to make brick and mortar leverage digital, and make it a little bit more like digital. And now we're starting to see that maybe that's not the right solution at all, especially if you're a retailer that's targeting a younger population.”

One retailer leaning fully into sensory experiences is Claire’s, which has started to feature ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) content in its stores for its younger shopper base.

For micro-space planners, the takeaway is that compelling packaging or branding that triggers the senses above-and-beyond the norm could be worth featuring in sets targeted to younger shoppers.

For macro-space planners at the table for floor-planning and fixture decisions, there is a tremendous opening to be the voice that speaks up and points out that the youngest shoppers are experiencing merchandise differently than the past — and opportunities to add design elements that promote testing and trying could be the key to building brand loyalty early.

2. Winning retailers know their shoppers — and are designing their stores to align with those shoppers’ experiences.

“More and more, we're seeing high-growth brands recreating different experiences targeted at different audiences or the same audience with different trip missions in mind,” Miller says. “It's not necessarily always targeting different segments. Sometimes it's the same segment and a different trip mission.”

No matter the size of the retailer, however, Miller advises that the ones who win are the ones who pick a clear lane and match their store experience to what their shoppers expect from them.

Says Miller: “You need to prioritize what's the experience that you want to offer first and foremost, and then what's secondary and what's tertiary.”

For space planners, our recent article on giving old stores a new-store feel rings particularly true when considering designing for experience. Micro-space planners can work their magic to ensure planograms match what shoppers expect — for instance, is the shopper value-seeking, or looking for a higher-end experience? Similarly, macro-space planners must view every addition to the floorplan through the lens of serving that core shopper and the experience sought.

Know your shopper. It always comes back to that, doesn’t it?

3. Monitor and test those “micro” trends — and look for innovation “white space.”

To keep up with the shopper, retail and manufacturer professionals should look beyond the macro trends and keep their ears to the ground on “micro” trends that are starting to build buzz but not yet showing up at scale at shelf. One example Miller cited was the rise of red light therapy to reduce wrinkles — a micro trend within the rise of both health and wellness and personal care/beauty products.

So how can retail space planners capitalize on seizing upon micro trends with the potential to uplift their categories?

Here a couple of suggestions.

For starters, retail space planners should have an always-on approach to finding ways to suggest innovation at shelf. Micro-space planners, with their real-time knowledge of behavior at shelf, should pride themselves on detecting and voicing trends in their categories and shelf sets. Such insights can ensure emerging brands/products get the deserved space allocation on the basis of where a category is going, not where it has been. Macro-space planners, meanwhile, should be voices for creating as many areas of the store as possible to explore and try new items, with dedicated space, bright signage and special fixtures.

Space planners should also challenge themselves to look for ways to suggest innovation by rigorously applying space rules and utilizing space technology to find "white space" for new products. Long-time CPG/retail executive Craig Hodnett, vice president of sales at InContext, suggests the following steps:

Space planners must first calculate how much of a category’s sales are driven by temporary displays vs. permanent shelf space. To Hodnett, permanent shelf space sales are the measure of “true volume sold in the aisle.”
Next, space planners need to align with retailer decision rules on key space metrics such as days of supply and minimum pack-out size.
In the next step, space planners need to lean on space technology to analyze the most common planogram and reduce SKUs, item-by-item, according to the rules.
From there, space planners have a credible, data-backed answer on whether a category is ripe for innovation — and where that space might come from.

Finally, cross-functional collaboration and external relationships are vital to operationalizing space innovation strategy. Micro- and macro-space planners should link closely with shopper insights for a view into emerging trends. From there, consider the opportunity for retailer-manufacturer partnerships around some quick VR testing around certain product categories. The faster space teams can facilitate testing and learning, the more likely stores and manufacturers can optimize space and assortment to get the right items onto shelf as that “micro” trend goes “macro.”

Closing Thoughts

Retail space planners can’t possibly stay atop every trend. But there are three things within their span of control they can undertake to be innovative and future-focused. These are:

The youngest shoppers want their senses engaged. In an omnichannel world, they need a reason to come into your stores. They want to be captivated. Lean into that.
You might not have a new retail space to work in, but if to keep the shopper at the center of your work, you’ll always have a fresh perspective.
By having an always-on innovation mindset, applying space fundamentals and building bridges internally and externally, you can create the space needed for your categories and stores to innovate.

Shopper tastes change, but the fundamentals largely stay the same. If space planners know their shopper, the world spins a little less fast.