Retail Stores Are Phasing Out Digital Screens and Heavy Inventory to Make Space for Experiential Moments, Modular Design Systems and Elevated Shopper Comfort
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, January 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Look Company, creators of large-scale visual branding for retail, sport and event environments, today released its 2026 Retail Design Trends report. The report reveals the five primary trends that will dominate physical store design and in-store experience this year, based on insight from retailers across the U.S. and Canada. The Look Company works with big box and chain retailers like Walmart, Skechers, Lululemon, Mattress Firm, Home Hardware, Shoppers Drug Mart and many others.
The Look Company is seeing retailers across the board move away from digital screens, minimalist designs and heavy inventory that, in some ways, resulted in in-store spaces that mimicked digital shopping experiences. Now, retailers are embracing their (and shoppers’) humanity with organic and fluid design elements that bring the “natural world” indoors, introducing modular, fabric display systems that can evolve with seasons and promotions, and creating room for experiences, not just products. The use of space itself is also a focus this year–from how much space retailers really need and how brands should be represented within it to the volume of products they display and the experiences they can introduce alongside them.
“Consumers are craving real-world experiences and retailers are paying attention. We’re seeing major retailers shift away from treating their stores solely as places to shop, and transforming them into opportunities for shoppers to escape their digital lives to interact with the real world,” said Gerry Price, North American CEO of The Look Company. “This means bringing in textures, colors and shapes from the outdoors, and prioritizing shoppers’ comfort. Stores that can do so will become places where shoppers want to go, rather than places they have to go, and those stores will win in 2026.”
This year’s five trends include:
1. Reconfiguring how they use size and space: As shoppers face online fatigue, they are increasingly looking for richer, more authentic in-person experiences. Drawing on this desire, retailers will focus more on spatial transformation in the year ahead, using physical appeal to attract new customers. They will reduce the size of their stores to a more intimate environment, while also updating their stock to prioritize a smaller, more targeted product selection. In addition to improving customer comfort, these shifts will provide cost benefits through smaller store leases.
2. Futureproofing store backdrops and signage with flexible modular systems: With a focus on creating more immersive spaces and improved customer experiences, retailers are moving away from single-use displays and toward display systems they can adapt and reuse over time. This means introducing modular system components that can be reconfigured into different shapes and are flexible enough to cater to multiple uses. In addition to saving money and reducing the environmental impact, these modular systems lend to retailers’ growing desire to keep their designs fresh, pivot quickly, and appeal to multiple age groups–all while saving money and reducing environmental impact.
3. Personalizing their customer experience: Equipped with store loyalty programs, website data and online tools, retailers have what they need to customize layouts to appeal directly to individually targeted sectors of shoppers. The goal of companies will be to create more intimate stores that appeal universally, while also feeling custom made for each shopper who enters. These designs will now increasingly include:
a. Interactive features like motion-detected lighting
b. Layered substrates
c. Graphics that transform when viewed from different angles
d. Mirrored surfaces that reflect the customer’s image.
4. Phasing out the use of digital screens: The peak of digital screen use in stores has passed, and, as retailers look to accommodate shoppers who are tiring of the online world, they will slowly begin phasing out screens from their stores as well. In addition to the waning interest from customers, the fast pace of technological advancements has also made it both expensive and complex to install and maintain digital offerings. Instead, companies will invest more heavily in SEG fabric graphics and framing solutions, which provide the benefit of easier integration into existing displays, along with no glare, flexibility in size and lighter weight.
5. Bringing in natural elements through biomorphic designs: The final piece of 2026 store designs will focus on the further integration of natural-feeling elements. Beyond adding visuals with direct ties to the outdoors – like wood patterns and grasses – retailers will instead use nature as an inspiration and lean into organic contours, textures, patterns, and colors. This will include incorporating elements like:
a. Kidney-shaped curves
b. Flowing lines
c. Rounded corners
d. Naturally occurring shapes
As a result, stark, modern, clinical spaces will incorporate warm in-store finishes such as mahogany, earth tones, and olive-green accents that appeal to the emotions and comfort of shoppers.
The 2026 Retail Design Trends report is based on feedback from major North American retailers. You can access the full report here.
About The Look Company
The Look Company is a large-scale visual branding company, producing award-winning printed graphics and display systems for retail, sport and event environments. With production facilities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, The Look Company services clients including FIFA, NHL, MLB, Walmart, Formula 1, Jaguar Land Rover, Mattress Firm, Lululemon and others. The company has more than 20 years of experience creating engaging brand experiences through end-to-end design, hardware manufacturing, printing, kitting, project management, and installation. The Look Company is a G7 Master Certified Facility and has achieved multiple international awards in the textile print industry, including the Innovation Awards at FESPA Europe.
Kieran Powell
The Look Company
kieran.powell@channelvmedia.com
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