We recently hosted a webinar exploring the evolution of retail spaces, with a forward-looking lens on the trends transforming the sector in 2025 and beyond. The session was packed with powerful insights, provocative predictions, and practical inspiration for brands striving to stay relevant in a rapidly shifting retail landscape.

Hosted by George Smart, Director of Customer Solutions and Strategic Growth at APS, with expert speakers Kate Ancketill, CEO of GDR and industry renowned retail futurist, Finn Lawton, Senior Strategist, and Tony Massey, Executive Director, both APS. The event set the stage for a thought-provoking conversation on what’s driving consumer expectations and how brands can respond by inspiring awe and re-establishing an emotional connection.

Finn kicked off the insights by painting a picture of the current retail terrain. He shared how rising economic pressures, digital acceleration, and evolving lifestyles are reshaping how consumers shop – and what they expect in return. He underlined the importance of staying true to your brand and authentically embedding innovation rather than chasing ‘hype’.

AI is now a non-negotiable element of modern retail, and with the rise of agentic AI Kate discussed how with technology taking care of our more transactional purchases, people are free to do the ‘experiencing’ and increasingly crave more human-centric interactions.

People want brands to help them feel something – 61% of consumers say they want intense emotional experiences, while 63% seek multi-sensory encounters (Wunderman Thompson, The Age of Re-enchantment, 2023).

Consumers are seeking more than just transactions, they’re looking for added value, meaningful engagement and purpose-driven spaces where they can find moments of magic. Kate explored the rising demand for collective experiences including gamified product visualisation and enveloping 4D environments, to immersive storytelling and pop-ups curated around iconic brand features. She highlighted the importance of biophilic design, wellbeing-led experiences like communal saunas and breathwork spaces, and fully integrated AI-powered avatars bringing fun, personalisation and expertise to in-store shopping.

“The antidote to the ‘age of anxiety’ is awe-driven joy.”

Today’s retail must deliver on both practicality and purpose, to do this successfully and provide what your customers need and want it’s vital that you get to know who they are. From multi-functional spaces and circular economy initiatives including second-hand selling/buying and rental models, meaningful brand experiences are the future of retail. This webinar was a call to action for companies to reimagine their physical environments as places of wonder, connection and purpose.

The session concluded with Tony sharing how APS has helped leading retailers bring innovation to life with examples including gamification and cost-effective experiential design. Brands require creative strategies to cut through in an increasingly competitive space which is something our talented Retail and Brand Experience team are passionate about delivering. Talk to us today, [email protected].

Want to see the full trend forecast, including case studies and standout activations?

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In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, the way businesses communicate with their customers is constantly evolving. Digital communications, offering speed, efficiency, cost savings, and environmental benefits, are increasingly becoming the standard.

However, transitioning customers from traditional paper-based methods to digital alternatives presents challenges. Despite the undeniable advantages, many customers remain attached to paper, either due to habit, lack of awareness, or perceived benefits. We explore strategies that can help businesses encourage customers to embrace digital communication while considering their concerns and motivations.

Digital communications provide significant advantages over traditional paper-based methods, whether that’s cost savings, quicker to implement, increased and trackable customer engagement or sustainability reasons. However, understanding customer behaviour in terms of their motivations and potential barriers is important so that you can develop the right strategy for your customers. This will then enable you to focus on strategies that will encourage the transition to digital. For example, exclusive content may work well for some customers, but others may need something more tangible like monetary incentives.

Strategies could include

• Incentives are particularly advantageous when a customer may feel the company is benefitting from cost-savings
• Education and awareness through workshops or tutorials to inform your customers
• Simplifying your processes so that it’s easy for customers to switch, ensuring your platform is flexible, user-friendly and mobile optimised
• Building trust to address privacy concerns and being transparent on how you collect and use data. Alongside this, you need to ensure a robust customer support system is in place and accessible online, to facilitate those transitioning
• Highlight the environmental impact on switching from paper to digital
• Leverage technology that facilitates quick and convenient communication, such as SMS or WhatsApp

Of course, measuring and reporting on your strategies is vital to record what is working or where improvements can be made. Customer feedback is crucial at this stage to ensure you understand all blockers or complexities for a customer to make the switch.

At APS, we can guide your organisation through this process and our team are on hand to advise at every step to ensure a smooth and effective transition for your cutomers and greater digital adoption.

You can download the full version of this report below for more information.

It’s all too easy for marketers to feel as if they’re drowning in their attempts to sift through the shifting range of new products and ideas and catch what’s real and meaningful. We’ve made it our business to cut through the noise and look at the emerging trends we believe will have a significant impact on how we and our clients operate this year and beyond.

We take a look at the growth of video, debates around AI and how best to build your ESG strategy.

Back to innovation hub

In this Horizon Scan, we focus on the UK Life & Pensions sector, both the opportunities, and the new challenges it faces against the backdrop of global uncertainty.

Our scan identifies key external forces within the UK economy, alongside market influences that will impact future leadership decisions as well as practical innovations and recommendations to help you stay ahead of the curve including:

• Customer behaviour
• Generation trends
• Data Intelligence
• Reactive customer service

To learn more just enter your details and we’ll send you a copy of this latest report.