Ephemeral trading and other retail trends 2016

While Russian companies are summing up the results of last year and making plans for the next, we decided to give the opinions of their foreign colleagues about what trends in retail will be relevant in the new 2016. Perhaps they will become food for new thoughts and inspire you to fresh decisions.

Transforming or “shrapnel” retail space will be the result of brands' desire to expand their role and get rid of the role of artists, teachers, and assistants, says Katy Baron, head of Stylus. The ability to gain new experiences will be appreciated by buyers above unlimited ownership and will lead to experimental hybrid retail formats.

Aaron Shields, EMEA Strategic Director, FITCH also expects transforming trading solutions. “Stores are developing from being assigned to a specific place to mobile. Scheduled building repairs every 5-10 years gradually go out of tradition, says Shields. - In terms of management, retail is turning into a developing platform with a core that is half fixed and half changeable. This is the only way to protect yourself from decay and further satisfy the growing appetite of customers. ”

“In 2016, I want to see how brands show a bold approach to ephemeral retail,” said George Wainwright, partner and creative director of PWW London. - Avoiding the good old physical locations, they must master new horizons, using pop-ups as the basis for online brand testing as an experiment. This would demonstrate their potential to reach a larger audience. ”


With the advent of technology in everyday life, people have learned to use fleeting experience. Pop-up store - according to Wainwright's logic, this is a retail analog of pop-up messages in gadgets. This format allows brands to flexibly meet the immediate needs of consumers. As he develops, he becomes less formal, more inspiring and promising. George Wainwright even believes that the pop-up store has changed the perception of what real retail should be, and could mark the end of traditional stores as the flagships of the brand.

According to Irene Maguire, co-founder of Caulder Moore, in the coming year, traditional stores need to concentrate on creating sensual, tactile, social experiences, creating good reasons for buying in real space. Many brands are already aware that their competitors are not other retailers, but hospitable businesses. ”