If you missed the first inaugural Lead Like Her event in Columbus, OH last month, you can still get a taste of the experience. On an episode of The Robin Report’s Lead Like Her series, MG2 Principal Melissa Gonzalez joined Shelley E. Kohan to discuss leadership growth and the realities of today’s retail environment.
他们当中年龄最大的也只有14岁，即便没有自己的信用卡，他们也已经开始影响品牌和商店的呈现方式。他们比以往任何一代人都拥有更多选择，并且熟练掌握智能手机、平板电脑、电脑、数字世界、虚拟现实和人工智能工具，在适应能力以及对便捷性和效率的期望方面，他们正迅速超越Z世代和千禧一代。他们能够自然地穿梭于数字空间和实体空间之间，他们的文化和商业影响力正在加速增长，因此，了解他们当下的喜好以及未来几年他们对品牌和零售商的期望至关重要。本研究探讨了阿尔法世代如何首次发现品牌，他们希望在交易之外如何与品牌互动，以及为什么他们能够激发和影响跨世代的购买决策，不容忽视。
完整报告可在本页底部下载。 现在就带我去那里！
根据我们的调查结果，Alpha世代消费者分享了以下关于店内设计和活动策划方面他们最关注的关键见解。总体而言，他们希望与品牌进行有意义的互动，积极参与购物过程，并明确表达他们对家庭购买决策的影响力。
97% 阿尔法世代 希望帮助品牌做出设计决策从测试新产品、为产品开发提供信息，到塑造商店环境的外观和感觉，都表现出强烈的成为品牌社区积极成员的愿望。
73% 阿尔法世代 他们更喜欢在实体店购物，以便完全沉浸其中。 在品牌环境中，他们重视亲身试用体验，这让他们能够探索产品、验证购买决定，并与品牌建立更深层次的联系。
3/4 阿尔法世代 例如店内食品和饮料供应 促使顾客在店内停留更长时间。这些体验让购物更愉快，鼓励探索，并提供社交机会，从而加强顾客与品牌的联系。
66% 阿尔法世代 依靠清晰的店内标牌 引导他们的购物之旅，兼顾可预测性和探索性，并体现他们对在线互动所期望的简单便捷。
70% 阿尔法世代报告称，他们生活中的成年人 经常购买他们推荐的商品这表明，它们不仅影响家庭的购买决策，而且还在塑造跨世代的潮流和品牌忠诚度。
这类人喜欢自主决策，并且偏爱能帮助他们保持专注的商店。他们购物时目标明确，充满自信。
这些人注重时尚，并且会关注商店是否把他们当作真正的顾客对待。他们希望感到被关注、被重视，而不是仅仅被视为父母的延伸。
这类人群希望品牌能够认可他们的兴趣和发展方向。他们寻找能够体现自身个性的店铺，并避免那些限制他们的品牌。
阿尔法世代或许是当今最年轻的消费者群体，但他们的影响力正在重塑品牌和零售商对互动方式的思考。这一代人重视自主性、好奇心和玩乐精神，他们能够自如地穿梭于数字世界和现实世界之间，并期待清晰、互动且有意义的体验。他们渴望亲身探索、个性化体验和参与机会，从而建立更深层次的联系，并影响着不同世代的家庭购买决策。信任源于真实性和可见的行动，而非空洞的承诺；科技必须提升而非分散品牌体验。能够赋予阿尔法世代探索、体验和参与机会的商店，将赢得他们的关注和忠诚。通过设计兼顾可预测性和探索性的体验，品牌可以与这一已经产生深远影响的世代建立持久的联系。
MG2 partnered with Estee Lauder to bring their global beauty brand, MAC Cosmetics, to Nordstrom’s New York City flagship. Prominently located in the heart of the store, the shop-in-shop offers an immersive experience that invites shoppers to explore the brand’s full product range and enjoy personalized makeup consultations.
Designed to capture MAC’s bold, modern identity, the space features distinctive consultation tables with integrated product displays, custom wood fixtures, and LED screens that enhance both visibility and engagement. Playful, oversized elements—such as sculptural makeup brushes forming a brand sign and a giant lipstick anchoring a featured display—add a dynamic, unique touch.
In collaboration with Estée Lauder’s US Retail Design team and key vendors, MG2 developed highly detailed millwork solutions to bring the design vision to life. The team engineered a concealed operable swing door within the primary display wall to provide access to back-of-house storage and crafted a custom fixture precisely aligned with the dimensions of the existing wall frame. Through careful coordination and thoughtful consideration of strict leasing parameters, MG2 developed an efficient, elevated layout that maximizes both functionality and brand expression within a compact space.
In a recent Retail TouchPoints article by Editor Adam Blair, MG2 Principal and Founder of MG2 Advisory Melissa Gonzalez explores 2026 Retail Predictions.
“The next era of retail will be shaped by a collective and growing longing for restoration. After years marked by fatigue, chronic stress and emotional overload, consumers are moving toward brands that actively safeguard their wellbeing. They are seeking products, services and environments that preserve energy rather than depleting it, in spaces that help them regulate, reset and return to themselves. Retail that prioritizes emotional clarity and nervous system health will become a decisive differentiator.”
MG2 Senior Project Designer Eladio Victoria and Principal Melissa Gonzalez spoke with Jessica Chevalier at Floor Focus Magazine, sharing their perspectives on the retail sector as designers.
“We build connection by creating emotional touchpoints through flooring,” says Eladio Victoria, senior project designer with MG2. “We are combining the floor and ceiling to create some hot spots or experiential locations within the retail space and also with a connection to the community, trying to evoke a presence with flooring using local materials so the consumers understand the space they are in.”
Our Nordstrom Local project in Brooklyn, NY, was featured in an issue of VMSD edited by Editor-in-Chief Carly Hagedon.
“‘The design of this Nordstrom Local store has an intentional balance of warmth and modernity, reflecting the ease that the concept brings to the customer’s life – all while delivering an elevated experience,’ says Melissa Gonzalez, Principal at Seattle-based architecture and design firm, MG2.”
MG2 Principal Melissa Gonzalez joined a Retail TouchPoints panel of experts to discuss how mall models should be evolving to effectively capture the attention of younger generations like Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
“Gonzalez: The most forward-thinking developers create a holistic journey for visitors, ensuring that the transition between experiences and shopping feels natural and enticing. Merchandising plays a critical role here; the layout and tenant mix must be thoughtfully curated to align with consumer preferences and behaviors.”
Danny Parisi sat down with MG2 Principal Melissa Gonzalez to discuss the benefits of launching a mobile app for fashion brands for Glossy.
“These apps are appealing because they allow brands to own the mobile experience, drive discovery and loyalty — not just conversion, link digital and physical touchpoints, and create community,” said Melissa Gonzalez, a retail strategist and principal at the retail architecture firm MG2. “Apps may include user profiles, saved looks, friend sharing, live chats, Q&As, drop countdowns and loyalty tiers, all tailored for the Gen-Z consumer who values peer influence and identity.”
MG2 Principal and The Purpose Pivot author Melissa Gonzalez joined Bill Sherman on an episode of Thought Leadership Leverage to discuss how moments of pause can redefine leadership, and why vulnerability, intuition, and well-being are essential to building clarity, resilience, and purpose-driven careers.
In a recent Colliers Knowledge Leader article, Anjee Solanki examines how shifting consumer habits and data insights are redefining the U.S. grocery landscape.
“Convenience continues to shape how Americans shop. Nearly half (47%) of U.S. consumers identify as “Quick Trippers,” favoring short, efficient grocery runs and stores with intuitive layouts and frictionless checkout, according to MG2 Advisory’s latest grocery report.”
With a career shaped by curiosity and a relentless drive to elevate everyday experiences, Bill Sleeth brings a visionary approach to restaurant and retail design. Drawing on 25 years of leadership at brands like Starbucks, Panera Bread, and Sweetgreen, he masterfully bridges strategy and storytelling to transform abstract ideas into engaging, human-centered environments. Bill thrives in collaborative settings, guiding teams through bold thinking and calculated experimentation—always in pursuit of meaningful, memorable customer moments.
Retail Design Institute honored MG2 Chief Creative Officer MJ Munsell with induction into the Retail Design Legion of Honor.
MJ is recognized for more than three decades of leadership in retail design, guiding award-winning project teams for brands including Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Victoria’s Secret, and Tommy Bahama.
MG2’s partnership with The Navy Exchange (NEXCOM)—the organization overseeing more than 300 retail stores across 92 naval bases worldwide—began in May 2020 and has grown into a trusted, collaborative relationship centered on the sailors and families NEXCOM serves. Our Advisory, Design, and Architecture teams have worked together to reimagine everything from departments to full-store environments. Beyond traditional site visits, our on-base tours and stays at Navy Lodges immerse us in sailors’ daily lives, how they move through spaces, shop, and connect with their environment, so we can design solutions that reflect their needs and values. This approach has given us meaningful insight into how retail can support sailors at every stage of life, from new recruits to retirees. Our goal is to create environments that are convenient, intuitive, and welcoming, while offering both efficiency and moments of delight.
The MG2 Advisory team, in partnership with our Design team, took a multi-pronged approach to assessing how each department could best support consumer needs.
This included:
This evaluation identified opportunities beyond price to deliver value across the fleet of locations. Through a deep dive analysis into trends, customer pain points and desires, including areas that provided demystification, we could identify drivers and preferences to inform the in-store experience evolution, allowing the Navy mission to be more deeply reflected in the spaces visited by sailors and families.
Based on the insights and research the MG2 Advisory Team brought forward, MG2 designed stores that provided greater space for storytelling, fostering excitement and a sense of community. As a result of these findings, the NEXCOM team revamped each department, reimagining the customer journey, merchandising, wayfinding, and operational change.
Store Departments Redesigned to Date (Advisory/Design)
Frameworks Articulated to Date (Advisory/Design):
Flagship Environments Redesigned to Date (Advisory/Design/Architecture Review)
Discover additional impact MG2 Advisory had on NEXCOM Beauty here.
In this episode of Retail Refined, MG2 Principal Melissa Gonzalez sits down with Brieane Olson, CEO of Pacsun, to explore how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are redefining creativity, consumption, and connection—and what it means for brands hoping to stay relevant in a culture that’s evolving faster than ever.
MG2 Principal Melissa Gonzalez discussed how Gen Z shapes the future of malls in an ICSC article.
“’Gen Z values community,’ she said, ‘so it’s key to understand what they want out of the communal experience and how malls can tap into culture, curate bespoke programming and design an environment that resonates as a social destination.'”
MG2 partnered with Regal Cinemas to develop Regal Greenway Grand Palace in Houston, TX. Through a two-phase renovation, the existing theater was reimagined into a modern entertainment destination, featuring upgraded auditoriums, refreshed concessions on two levels, and a new arcade designed to elevate the guest experience.
The first phase focused on auditorium enhancements, retrofitting 18 of the theaters with a full redesign. Standard seating was converted to luxury recliners for added comfort, with layouts carefully planned to maintain a clear line of sight from every seat. Several specialized theaters were introduced, including 4DX, which features motion-activated seats and environmental effects for an immersive, multi-sensory experience, and RPX, which offers uncompressed surround sound and the largest screen in the theater, showcasing movies in both 2D and 3D formats.
Phase two revitalized the theater’s shared spaces, including the lobby, concessions, and corridors. Sleek new finishes, modernized concession stands, and ADA-compliant renovations create a welcoming and accessible environment. An underutilized retail space was repurposed into a vibrant arcade and gaming area, and digital poster cases were added along the promenades.
In addition to this Houston location, MG2 has worked with Regal on multiple projects across the U.S., including Boise, ID, and Hunt Valley, MD.
MG2 partnered with global fashion retailer H&M to bring their newest store to life at The Original Farmers Market, a historic shopping and dining destination in Los Angeles. The flagship’s elevated design blends refined textures, shapes, and warm finishes, creating an inviting environment that reflects H&M’s evolving brand identity.
Key elements include translucent display walls that filter light while showcasing product, fluted stucco surfaces that bring texture, and modular fixtures that enable the brand to present multiple fashion narratives at once. These layered details required thoughtful coordination across departments and finishes, ensuring a seamless expression of H&M’s latest brand standards while maintaining design integrity.
Among the store’s signature features is the Champagne Pocket, a secluded space finished in stucco and soft neutral tones, designed to showcase H&M’s higher-end collections in a sophisticated setting. Additional highlights include a dramatic LED screen adjacent to the first-floor cashwrap, dynamic wavy panel displays that add movement, and continuous wood paneling across the second floor that ties together the men’s department, fitting rooms, and cashwrap. The integration of wood laminate—particularly across walls, ceilings, and fitting room openings—required meticulous planning to align grains, panel seams, and transitions for a consistent, elevated finish.
The team also discovered a partially demolished abandoned stairway within the existing space, requiring layout changes during construction. Throughout the project, MG2 worked closely to ensure all elements passed Los Angeles’ strict permitting codes and created the final elevated space for customers to enjoy.
In addition to this Los Angeles Flagship location, MG2 has worked closely with H&M on multiple projects across the United States, including FlatIron Crossing in Broomfield, CO, and Northridge Fashion Center in Northridge, CA.
消费者购物更加快捷高效，他们会将线上和线下触点融合起来，并根据预算、时间和生活方式的变化调整购买内容。与此同时，杂货商面临着不断上涨的劳动力成本和运营需求的压力，他们通常会转向自动化和技术来跟上步伐。但仅仅提高效率是不够的。如今的消费者对价值的定义不再仅仅局限于价格或速度，而是取决于商店的易用性、与自身生活的关联程度，以及能否在购物过程中带来惊喜。他们想要的是一个既能快速响应，又能体现个性化、本地化且值得再次光顾的空间。在本报告中，我们将探讨杂货零售商如何改进其实体环境，从而更好地支持便捷购物、探索发现和有意义的互动，同时提供基于日常行为的真正价值。
完整报告可在本页底部下载。 现在就带我去那里！
他们将效率置于探索之上，追求直观的布局和流畅的服务，尊重他们的时间和目标。
这些人既重视氛围又重视商品种类，他们喜欢精心挑选的商品、引人注目的设计以及能够提升整体体验的设施。
这类人注重的不仅仅是交易本身，他们会被那些表达清晰价值观和文化意识的品牌所吸引。
这些人将预制食品视为重点，他们会寻找能够提供令人兴奋且便捷的膳食解决方案的杂货店。
购物不仅仅是一笔交易，它反映了人们的生活方式、价值观以及他们希望停留的环境。价格和便利性固然重要，但如今已成为基本要素。真正让一家商店脱颖而出的，是它如何将效率与有意义的体验完美融合，并清晰地展现出与消费者生活方式的关联性。清晰的标识、直观的布局、本地合作关系以及智能技术等设计元素，并非只是锦上添花，它们会积极地影响消费者对品牌的体验和记忆。为了保持竞争力并建立客户忠诚度，杂货商必须采取整体性的店内体验策略。以下要点将着重阐述消费者期望的发展方向，以及零售商如何通过清晰的愿景、专注的定位和切实可行的创新来满足这些期望。
MG2’s Chief Creative Officer MJ Munsell spoke with Bisnow’s John Krukowski about the ever evolving retail industry.
“’To create a retail center where people want to return, it’s important to develop a dynamic sense of place with dining experiences, entertainment, surprise and discovery, camaraderie and, of course, shopping,’ said Munsell.”
MG2 partnered with Yaodi, a Chinese based supermarket chain owner and operator, to develop a first-of-its kind Albert Wang Market, located within the CapitalLand Mall in Sun Palace, Beijing. The grand opening of the new organic market drew over one million customers, introducing the community to a fresh, engaging approach to grocery retail. The playful design incorporates bright colors, geometric shapes, and graphic signage, creating a fun and inviting atmosphere.
Vibrant colors and bold patterns are layered throughout the space, creating an artistic, energetic atmosphere that organizes and highlights product displays. Graphic signage acts as a dynamic visual guide, leading customers through the store.
Integrated into the design is the concept of a culinary theater, transforming part of the retail space into an open production area. Here, customers can observe the preparation of baked goods, meats, and fresh fish, enhancing the shopping experience while building confidence in product quality.
The design also adopts a sustainable modular system that aligns with the organic concept of the market, consisting of display components that can be reconfigured, disassembled, and recycled. This approach not only improves the functionality and flexibility of product arrangements but also reinforces the market’s commitment to environmental responsibility.
MG2 and Yaodi collaborated to create an engaging experience that embodies sustainable values and provides its community with a unique grocery store.
在最近一期的《零售重塑》节目中，MG2 的负责人 Melissa Gonzalez 与 Nicole Silberstein 进行了对话，分享了为什么店内体验仍然是建立联系和促进转化的强大驱动力，以及 MG2 的最新研究如何揭示 Z 世代带着明确的目的走进实体零售店。
In her article in Inside Retail, “Where Checkout Happens Now,” MG2 Principal Melissa Gonzalez discusses the evolution of the checkout experience.
“In its 2025 report on Gen Z shoppers, MG2 Advisory found that more than half of Gen Z saw value in mobile pay or self-checkout optionality, as well as ‘buy online, pick up in-store’ (BOPIS) capabilities.”
MG2 has long partnered with Nordstrom on their Nordstrom Local locations, which offer convenient, personalized services including in-store pickup, on-site alterations, and easy returns. Envisioned as tranquil escapes from day-to-day city life, the stores are designed to reflect and complement their surrounding neighborhoods, retaining existing architectural elements and featuring artwork from local creators.
A slatted wood wall subtly divides the order pickup area from the front of house, maintaining an open layout while supporting a relaxed, customer-focused experience. Natural materials and abundant daylight contribute to the calming environment. From the sidewalk, passersby can view the alterations station and watch one of the tailors at work.
To preserve the character of each building, MG2 thoughtfully incorporates original elements across Nordstrom Local’s portfolio. In New York City’s Williamsburg location, this includes the storefront entrance, concrete flooring, and suspended wood ceiling; in San Francisco’s Fillmore store, exposed brick adds warmth and texture to the fitting areas.
Customers today are looking for a personalized, service-oriented shopping experience. Nordstrom Local brings all of that and more, continuing their legacy of exceptional customer service.
VMSD recently unveiled its 2025 Annual International Visual Competition award winners and our Kizik Pop-Up in SoHo, NYC was a 2024 Honorable Mention.
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