How Fiture Creates ‘Fitness for All’ in Compact N.Y. Store Location


Smart home fitness mirror Fiture has a short, yet appropriate, tagline: “Don’t fit in. Fiture.” At its core, the brand is focused on making sure anyone and everyone can benefit from and enjoy fitness. And those core beliefs are reflected in everything the brand touches, whether it be an influencer partnership or an in-store experience.


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MG2 Publishes Inaugural Community Impact Report

1 月 2023 / By Mitch Smith

For decades, MG2 has been deeply committed to fostering and growing authentic connections with the societies we live in, and design for. Proudly driven by and shaped by the dedicated employees of our firm, each philanthropic undertaking is a direct representation of the social issues, community challenges, and personal passions held as high priorities by individuals and teams throughout our practice. This personalized approach doesn’t just set us apart from others in our industry: it fundamentally defines who we are and what we stand for as a company.

2022 was truly a remarkable year for MG2. It was a year that tested our agility, perseverance, and character, with exemplary results documented not just through our projects and partnerships, but across the impact we’ve made together in—and on—our communities.

It was a year that empowered our firm to double down on commitments to institutions like Howard University, the University of Oregon, the University of Washington, Washington State University, Lake Washington Tech, and Florida A&M University—with whom we’ve established vocational scholarships to help foster career paths in design for those in underrepresented communities—and forge new relationships with organizations like Seattle-based Fred Hutch, whose strides in cancer research are transforming lives around the globe.

It was a year that finally allowed our staff to reengage in many of the physical initiatives, activities, and events that have always invigorated us to our core. From Day of Giving volunteer missions organized by teams across the globe, to group builds for BLOCK ProjectNAIOP Community Enhancement Projects, to celebrating our 20th Swing for the Cure golf tournament in person with our partners once again—the emotion? Palpable. The energy? Visceral.

But perhaps most importantly, 2022 was a year that encouraged us to reenvision and recraft our roadmap for the future of the MG2 Foundation. Armed with deeper intention and meaning behind what we invest in (and why), we look forward to 2023 where we’ll seek to elevate the representation of the Foundation in underwriting all of our community engagements, investments, and initiatives, resulting in even greater impact than ever before.

This is where you, our community, come in. MG2 Foundation initiatives represent an investment not only in what our company stands for but also in our core identity.

To truly succeed, we need employees at all levels to bring their passions, energy, and ideas to the forefront. We need managers and leaders to help us educate teams about MG2’s impact efforts and to set a positive example by engaging with those with whom you resonate the most. And we need our friends, family, and partners to continue to bring their passions and support to the table. We would not succeed without you.

But most of all, we need everyone to lean in and take advantage of the virtually limitless opportunities at hand. With each new year, it’s our honor and pleasure to grant each of our employees the chance to support the organizations and causes they’re passionate about. To make a genuine difference in our communities, industry, and future. All you have to do is rise to the challenge.

Here’s to taking our impact even further together, in 2023 and beyond.

Yours in service and gratitude, Mitch Smith, CEO, MG2

Learn more about the mark MG2 has made on our communities in our inaugural MG2 Community Impact Report, or by reaching out to our team.

Research & Insights – January 2023

Creating Experiences That Inform & Inspire Today’s Footwear Consumer

In our constant curiosity and investigation of consumer behaviors and expectations, we utilize data insights to help uncover and validate where we can deliver true points of gratification within the customer journey. Here is a snapshot of key takeaways from our latest consumer survey.

Our full deck is available for download at the bottom of this preview. Take me there now!

Interested in More? Download the Full Deck!

消费者体验

Cleancult

Design and build a product exhibition for Natural Products Expo West.

Goal

Offering products with real ingredients, zero-waste packaging, and a powerful clean that’s better for you, Cleancult is a sustainably-minded brand offering natural cleaning goods and refills that are gentler on the planet. Seeking to build brand awareness, engage with distributors, and educate potential customers on their offering, Cleancult partnered with MG2 to bring its digitally native brand and persona to life into a physical product exhibition at Natural Products Expo West.

MG2

Providing everything from design ideation, 2D layout, and 3D renderings to all production sources and build out management, MG2 worked hand-in-hand with Cleancult to create a branded environment that accurately represents the brand’s messaging and aesthetic, source and execute the production of the exhibition booth, and—keeping in line with the brand’s sustainable mission—carefully plan for storage and future reuse of the set.

Outcome

Cleancult found great success with the debut of its brand in a physical environment. To highlight their sustainable messaging, we incorporated an oversized product carton to emphasize their sustainable packaging, a living wall with real plants, and included digital and physical signage with product claims and information—all utilizing environmentally-friendly materials. Cleancult was thrilled with the connections made during the show and is now set up for future activations with quick and easy access to an existing build-out in storage.


10 New York City Executives to Watch in 2023

This year, Melissa Gonzalez worked with the retail brands Ever/Body, Alpha Industries, and Waterford to open brick-and-mortar stores in New York City. Her team also launched the Victoria Secret Bombshell Gardens pop-up, which brought more than 90,000 visitors to The High Line park in Chelsea.


Research & Insights – December 2022

Designing Men’s In-Store Grooming Experiences that Inspire Today’s Consumer

In our constant curiosity and investigation of consumer behaviors and expectations, we utilize data insights to help uncover and validate where we can deliver true points of gratification within the customer journey. 

Our full deck is available for download at the bottom of this preview. Take me there now!

Interested in More? Download the Full Deck!

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Hush Puppies

Scalable on-brand retail solutions for a global icon

Footwear towers to flagship stores: Unifying a brand across 3,000 retail spaces

Iconic since its inception, Hush Puppies has spent decades redefining the meaning of comfort, inspiring the embrace of color, and establishing itself as one of the world’s most recognizable footwear brands.

Having adopted an optimistic new visual identity and innovative approach toward technology, Hush Puppies partnered with MG2 to translate its new ideals into a modular retail format and global design guidelines.

With a standardized toolkit of modular design options, Hush Puppies retail partners have the flexibility to curate and scale store spaces while always remaining on-brand.

Artfully blending facilitation and collaboration with rapid productivity

Retail experts at MG2 facilitated collaborative explorations with stakeholders on both sides to examine challenges and find solutions to strike a balance between the needs of individual stores and the needs of the business. From there, they worked together to quickly and simultaneously design a flexible merchandising kit-of-parts as well as develop documented brand benchmarks to ensure that every Hush Puppies experience, from standalone footwear towers to global destination experiences, have the same identity and personality.

Countless scalable combinations, one iconic brand

With a toolkit of on-brand modular design options and standards, Hush Puppies retail partners around the world have the flexibility to choose from a carefully curated, scalable combination of fixtures, flooring, shelving, furniture, lighting, ceiling baffles, environmental graphic designs (EGD), monitor display graphics, and more, all adaptable to specific locations and budgets.

In addition to concurrently designing three unique full-scale store formats, five shop-in-shop formats, and developing tiered standards for fixtures and furnishings, MG2 leveraged talents from its branding team to bring to life unique EGD, wayfinding, and signage, including a hand-illustrated wall covering featuring Jason: Hush Puppies’ iconic basset hound mascot.

These playful, vibrant elements can be found throughout Hush Puppies’ latest concept store in Jakarta, Indonesia: the brand’s first implementation of its new global retail design guidelines. The experience also includes a variety of technology-driven retail touch points, ranging from augmented reality games to Instagram Live shopping events, that help the company connect with a new generation of customers.


Research & Insights – November 2022

Designing Women’s In-Store Beauty Experiences that Resonate with Today’s Consumer

In our constant curiosity and investigation of consumer behaviors and expectations, we utilize data insights to help uncover and validate where we can deliver true points of gratification within the customer journey. 

Our full deck is available for download at the bottom of this preview. Take me there now!

Interested in More? Download the Full Deck!

Gift Shop Tips for the Holiday Retailing Season

“With a tricky economic backdrop, people will be looking for inspiration and ease when it comes to holiday shopping. Think of ways you can bundle products to create thoughtful pairings that are tastefully thematic.” – Melissa Gonzalez, Principal at MG2 and Founder of The Lionesque Group


消费者体验

Catch’N Ice Cream

Bringing the brand of an iconic influencer to life

Since his humble beginnings as a Cold Stone Creamery scooper in Michigan, Dylan Lemay always dreamed of taking his love and passion for ice cream to new heights. The young entrepreneur spent years honing his craft, building his personal brand, and creating unique, first-person social videos that put ice cream fans in the spotlight.

Today, as TikTok’s number one food & beverage content creator, Dylan regularly entertains over 15 million followers across numerous digital platforms with his ice cream “throwing” antics. When the influencer was ready to establish a brick-and-mortar venture, he partnered with MG2/The Lionesque Group to bring his brand and vision to life.

Catch’N Ice Cream is an innovative, interactive ice cream shop experience in the NoHo neighborhood of New York City. Like neighboring retailers on its strategically chosen block of Bleecker Street, Catch’N is a contemporary brand that offers visitors an engaging yet timeless approach to a classic experience, one that is inherently Dylan Lemay.

The store’s design language is crisp, clean, and modern, with angular details that draw guests’ eyes to the culinary performance at its center. Hand-selected from dozens of options, the venue itself is a traditional podium retail space in the historic Bayard-Condict Building: the only structure in NYC by the great modernist architect Louis Sullivan. This unique setting creates a backdrop of familiarity and neighborhood context that juxtaposes the trendy elements specific to the Catch’N brand.

In order to fundamentally capture Dylan’s style and personality, every element for Catch’N was custom-designed, from the logo and style guide, to merchandise, fixtures, counters, and wallcoverings. Curated with intent, Catch’N’s color palette boldly diverts from the industry’s traditional, frequently used shades while still befitting that of an ice cream company.

The Catch’N experience centers around a huge cold slab counter where staff chop, fold, and throw ice cream to customers, replicating the influencer’s signature style. The user journey, both kinetic and sensory in nature, puts each patron in the spotlight, just like Dylan’s digital brand and video creations. 

As guests wait their turn, they’re awarded ample sightlines to the cold slab experience and the ability to explore the full line-up of ice cream-themed merchandise. Technological touches such as digital menus and projection mapping infuse humor and keep in-store content fresh, rounding off a stylish, engaging experience created by—and for—the next generation.

“Catch’N is born 50% from social media and 50% from the culinary ice cream world,” explains Peter Stocker, Principal at MG2 and design lead on the new ice cream brand, “The design and customer experiences in the space reflect that duality.”

“What’s been so exciting about working with Dylan and his team to create this unique culinary experience is the incredible growth we’re seeing in the ‘creator as a brand’ trend,” adds Melissa Gonzalez, Principal at MG2 and Founder of The Lionesque Group, an MG2 studio. “The opportunity to partner with such a dynamic innovator with a steadfast entrepreneurial mindset, and be that counterpart in helping him find the perfect space, bring the design to life, and mold the brand voice—it’s been a rewarding experience for all involved.”


消费者体验

LouLou Market & Bar

Expanding the legacy and brand of a culinary legend

Upon his semi-retirement, Thierry Rautureau, better known to many as the award-winning Chef in the Hat, was ready to embark on a new culinary endeavor. He sought to expand his brand beyond traditional fine dining into a more approachable but still sophisticated experience that would appeal to a wider audience.

Rautureau collaborated with MG2 and SSP America to design and develop LouLou Market & Bar: a French-meets-Pacific Northwest restaurant in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The restaurant weaves together the chef’s passion for cooking, a lifetime of culinary accomplishments, and rich personal history.

Every aspect of LouLou’s environment and branding was chosen to reflect the Chef’s vision, the legacy of his brand, and his lifelong journey.

The familiar wood tones and neutral colors of its nearby terminal neighbors are delicately interrupted by a dark blue and white color palette. It’s a strategic motif that distinguishes itself while also creating a welcoming respite in the chaotic gate environment.

Custom wall coverings surround visitors—hand-illustrated to pay homage to Rautureau’s childhood dog—gracing the walls alongside a refined logo, signage, and greenery-adorned shelving. Elegant yet hearty Parisian fixtures, furnishings, and operational elements such as rattan seating and bespoke brass beer taps combine to create a warm market atmosphere. Menus, plating, and presentations artfully blend French and Pacific Northwest culinary traditions.

“We wanted to make sure it lived up to the Chef’s reputation,” explains Peter Stocker, Principal and LouLou’s design and branding lead. “It was a powerful collaboration in which we pooled ideas and talents to achieve a genuine design vision. I believe we were successful in honoring his legacy, brand, and personal history — the end result is authentically and aesthetically him.”



Something new for travelers is popping up all over

“Large existing retailers are resorting to pop-ups as a low-risk way to test new markets ‘and show people what the experience is,'” reports Jon Marcus for The Boston Globe.

“This also accelerated during the pandemic, when brands were desperate to stay connected with their customers, who often moved away to work remotely. Some New York stores ‘followed people to the Hamptons,’ for example, said Melissa Gonzalez, Principal at MG2, Founder of The Lionesque Group, an MG2 studio, and author of ‘The Pop-up Paradigm: How Brands Build Human Connection in a Digital Age.’

“It’s that uniqueness that makes pop-ups particularly appealing to travelers.

“‘When you go away, you want to get something that feels authentic and unique,’ Gonzalez said.”

France meets the Pacific Northwest at Thierry Rautureau’s new airport bistro

“Enjoying a coffee and croissant on rattan chairs, sipping an Aperol spritz at a custom millwork bar, or grabbing a quiche to go at LouLou Market and Bar in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s Concourse B, you might feel as if you’re in Paris rather than at an airport — and that’s the whole point,” Emma Hinchliffe of The Daily Journal of Commerce reports.

消费者体验

VYNE Washington Tasting Room

VYNE-Washington-Tasting-Room-SeaTac-Airport-2

Expanding the legacy and brand of a culinary legend

When SSP America sought to replace an existing food and beverage venue in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with a cutting-edge, interactive experience, they partnered with MG2 to create VYNE: a technology-driven wine bar and tasting room.

Born from the goal of showcasing a diverse selection of Washington wineries to travelers from around the globe, VYNE’s interactive pour-it-yourself wine journey offers upscale yet laid-back ambiance in an industrial-modern environment, creating a destination-worthy reprieve from the bustle of SeaTac’s central terminal.

Every aspect of LouLou’s environment and branding was chosen to reflect the Chef’s vision, the legacy of his brand, and his lifelong journey.

Tackling everything from logo development to architecture scope, all the way through construction in a challenging footprint located directly above baggage claim, the teams worked closely together to deliver a final product that is as interactive and educational as it is inviting and enticing.

In 2022, with an above-and-beyond design demonstrating an innovative approach and effective partnership between the airport, its passengers, and the larger Washington community, VYNE was awarded the “Best New Food and Beverage” full-service concept by the Airports Council International – North America.


我们的团队

Jessica Thaemert

副董事

With a keen eye for details, a passion for the collaboration process, and over fifteen years of experience, Jessica Thaemert knows how to expertly and thoughtfully craft transformative spaces that heighten the desired sensations from any given environment. She is a hybrid big-picture creative and detail-oriented executor, bridging the gap between conceptual thinking and the realities of construction, budget, durability, and scheduling.

Jessica is a master at partnership design process orchestration, working alongside stakeholders to bring their voices, ideas, and business goals to the table, turning them into tactile, memorable spaces. She is sustainability-driven and maintains a deep passion for keeping abreast of the latest in industry trends and interior aesthetics. From concept to reality, Jessica is a true champion for design challenges of all scopes and sizes.

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Immersive Experiences, Enduring Strategies: Retail Design Lessons From Milan Design Week

6 月 2022 / By MJ Munsell, Jessica Thaemert

What makes a retail experience truly exceptional?

Is it the total, almost tactile immersion in the world according to that brand? The way being in that space makes you feel? The possibilities it allows you to envision? The senses it stimulates? All of the above? Or something else entirely? This year, we attended Salone de Mobile and Fuorisalone In Milan to uncover fresh answers to these questions.

Inspired by all that we encountered, our team rounded up our top experiences, chronicling what made them stand out, and what we can learn and apply to designing some of the world’s best retail experiences.

Alcova

An otherworldly excursion into an abandoned military hospital, Alcova showcased over eighty exhibitors who brought common objects into an uncommon environment, creating focus, enabling storytelling, and developing memories that we now associate with that object and brand.

The journey inside was as impactful as the event itself: the approach, the uncertainty, the unveiling of a vignette — it all added to the allure of the brands, and the influence of the experience.

Alessi

The personalized showcase from Alessi told a brand story through the lens of their history in a multi-scaled environment. It presented small, curated vignettes that featured iconic moments from the brand’s past, narratives from the family who spoke about the factory and company’s timeline in the first person, and offered a sincere, insightful immersion into its legacy through a branded exhibit.

This multi-faceted design firm brought to life an experiential gallery of objects, music, place, and setting. The installation showcased their talent in creating emotional spaces, the curation of beautiful objects, and effortlessly bringing like-minded people together into an unforgettable experience.

Hermes

A showstopper from one of the world’s biggest luxury design houses featured their latest collection of furniture, accessories, and lighting. Inspired by brutalist water towers, large glowing wooden structures covered in translucent paper, enveloped various objects in an ethereal, yet focused setting.

A cavernous, dimly lit space housed these four glowing structures, each devoted to a different product type. The immersive, almost theatrical experience captured the imagination and inspired a deep, emotional connection with an otherwise often inaccessible brand.

Lee Broom

The latest collection from lighting designer Lee Broom was shown in an exhibit titled Divine Inspiration.  The setting placed the collection in a context that richened both its design and the story. Showcasing a stunning series of new, ethereal lighting inspired by historic places of worship. It was truly a multi-sensory experience combining journey, sound, scent, lighting, and place to reinforce the origins of this new collection.

Golden Goose

Golden Goose was successful in evolving their brand experience to be energetic, young, eventful, and even artistic through the in-store experience.  

The journey began at the storefront were visitors were driven by curiosity to peek into the action of the store from the outside. Once inside, a combination of both hands-on artistry with life-sized digital screens, created a complimentary experience.  Watching a delighted customer unpack their customized sneakers, unveiling artwork that was created specifically for them, and the energy that surrounded it was a brand defining moment.

An unexpected detail was the acknowledgment on the history of the space: Golden Goose honored the previous tenant—Alexander McQueen—through iconic elements and a narration of the legacy and significance they played.

Rossana Orlandi

Described as a “meandering wonderland of craft, collectible design, and mind-bending furniture that enticed visitors to explore down hallways, up stairwells, and around corners”, Rossana Orlandi’s gallery had us finding inspiration in every nook and cranny.

RO offered three curated experiences, which included immersive settings, collectible furniture, and spaces for eating and drinking. Some highlights were the “Sexy Seventies” collection by Se, the indoor/outdoor rustic spaces that showcased both practical and artistic sustainability concepts, and The Danish House exhibition that effortlessly showcased its curated Scandinavian designs.

What made all of these showcases so great?

  • Fully immersive experiences
  • Intuitive storytelling
  • Entirely integrated messaging
  • Bold, yet simple
  • A clear point of view
  • Disciplined design
  • Instantly iconic
  • A story told using all senses

This year at Milan Design Week, we were reminded of the importance of three pivotal, yet enduring design strategies:  “do not stray”, “keep it simple”, and “leave something to the imagination”.

With every experience we encountered, it was the fusion of sound, scent, lighting, design elements, visual merchandising, and people that made them memorable. And it’s this blending of science and art that creates exceptional retail experiences.

MG2 Associate, Catherine Clark, Named on 40 Under 40 List

Catherine Clark, a senior project manager at architecture and design firm MG2 was honored with the Retail TouchPoints 40 Under 40 Award at a reception during the 2022 Retail Innovation Conference that took place in Chicago in May.

消费者体验

Victoria’s Secret Bombshell Gardens

Engaging. Instagrammable. Destination-worthy.

When Victoria’s Secret, one of the defining brands in the world of beauty, sought to elevate both local and global awareness around its iconic Bombshell fragrance, they partnered with MG2 / The Lionesque Group on the design, development, and build-out of a one-week immersive pop-up experience on The High Line: an iconic outdoor park that weaves through the heart of Manhattan.

From the onset, finding the perfect outdoor venue—an outdoor city park that allowed for the selling of goods but also supported the duration desired by the client—was as challenging as it was paramount. The team sourced, scouted, and worked with the City of New York to navigate the complexities of permitting to secure the iconic, elevated High Line park for the pop-up’s location. With the challenges that variable weather can provide for outdoor venues, designers also took every possibility into consideration while curating the experience, incorporating contingencies for inclement climates.

With a focus on creating an immersive, technology-integrated journey that would play host to several events and memorable moments throughout the week, designers adopted and embodied the Bombshell state of mind from day one. Designers studied concepts in 2D and rendered in 3D, while also carefully curating the color and material palettes, signage, lighting, and floral packages that would become the foundation of the experiential attributes, iconic structures, and captivating motifs.

With the run-of-show, customer journey, and design details finalized, The Lionesque Group conducted a veritable orchestra of contractors, vendors, and specialists, coordinating the budgets and timelines of hundreds of moving pieces to bring a wholly unique, unforgettable 10,000 sq/ft pop-up to life.

The experience featured 150 lbs of greenery, 525 feet of LED neon, 1,350 sq/ft of pink vinyl, and approximately 58,000 stems of fresh florals—half of them season-favorite peonies—sourced both locally and from countries around the world.

The Bombshell Gardens debuted to unanimous fanfare from the press, influencers, celebrities, and visitors. Complete with immersive projection mapping, artful mirrored installations, elegant gardens containing thousands of flowers, and classic brand iconography, visitors were immersed in the Bombshell story: a place of discovery where all are welcome to be inspired and uplifted through the ultimate fragrance journey.

Engaging, Instagrammable, and destination-worthy, the Victoria’s Secret Bombshell Gardens experience garnered over 93,000 visitors, millions of social media impressions, four engagement proposals, significant brand awareness and coverage, and the genuine, high-spirited, consumer-empowering brand engagement it sought from the week-long pop-up event.



Retail TouchPoints Reveals 2022’s 40 Under 40 Winners

Retail TouchPoints and design:retail have unveiled the 2022 slate of 40 Under 40 Award winners. Representing the entire retail realm — from store design to CX strategy, ecommerce and retail operations — the 40 Under 40 Awards spotlight up-and-coming leaders who have done innovative and remarkable work and contributed significantly to the progress of the retail industry as a whole.

MG2’s Sustainable Materials Evaluation System with Candon Murphy

Learn how MG2’s Sustainable Materials Evaluation System helps clients, prospects, and staff choose the most environmentally feasible materials for their building projects. Candon Murphy, LEED GA, Assoc. IIDA, Design Lab Manager and Materials & Sustainability Specialist with MG2, speaks with BD+C Executive Editor Rob Cassidy.

New York By Design Architecture: Season 1, Episode 2

Season 1 of New York By Design: Architecture uncovers outstanding projects that exemplify excellence in New York architectural design, showcasing the human story behind some of the most innovative and creative architects and builders in and around New York.

The 9 Best Restaurant Architects in Irvine, California

Irvine of Orange County is considered to be a safer place to live than many other alternatives. It is Southern California’s economic center, and it also features some of the best shopping, restaurants and outdoor recreation in the country. Irvine is also home to a number of corporations, particularly in the technology and semiconductor sectors that locate their national or international headquarters in Irvine.

Below are nine of the best restaurant architects in Irvine, California. They were selected for their experience, expertise, and the awards they have received over the years.

Research & Insights – April 2022

How to attract shoppers & keep them coming back?

How to attract shoppers & keep them coming back

A few takeaways from this Shoptalk 2022

The last few years have catapulted consumers of every demographic into embracing and expecting seamless online and mobile commerce in a way we never could have anticipated pre-pandemic. And while adoption sharply increased across the board, the cost for brands to compete also grew exponentially. This industry competition—coupled with factors like inflation, price increases, labor shortages, supply chain delays, and tumultuous international relations—is only growing more fierce.

As populations begin to re-normalize and venture back out into the world to shop, brick-and-mortar stores have the opportunity to continue to prove their value. With concrete data illustrating the “halo effect” and the impact on consumer lifetime value, the approach to the in-store experience has forever changed. 

It’s time for brands to think differently. Think about how to make the most of new factors that are motivating consumers to shop in-store. Think about the marriage of physical and digital, while adding in a layer of hospitality, and creating an omnichannel network approach. 

In the wake of learning from and conversing with industry experts during this year’s Shoptalk conference, here are three things brands should be thinking about to attract shoppers to physical retail, and how they can keep them coming back for more.

1. NEW AND HYBRID FORMATS KEEP THINGS FRESH, BUT EACH SHOULD SERVE A PURPOSE, AND ALL SHOULD BE INTEGRATED.

Micro pop-ups, small-format stores, large-format flagships, flex-format, mobile-format, meta-format… these days, there really are no boundaries in how retail can be experienced, and brands are keen to experiment across multiple formats to see what resonates with consumers. However, what retailers need to remember is to be strategic in thinking about the purpose each format serves, and consider the challenges and opportunities that lie within each option.

As we design any store format, the intersection of the customer journey with the package journey needs to seamlessly flex from a point of fulfillment to a point of discovery and immersion. Leveraging digital assets and platforms to inform and fuel both consumer/associate interactions and retail inventory at physical locations is paramount; customers expect this seamlessness as they research, get advice from, and compare brands to the competition.

For example, Foxtrot—a once digitally native marketplace brand—is reinventing the intersection of grocery, retail, and consumer experience through its robust app that powers both delivery and in-store pick-up of goods. They seamlessly flex from quick-serve metrics to consumer-centric hospitality day, harnessing the data captured across both formats to inform their next industry move and better serve their customers. Less friction = more brand loyalty.

2. STORES NEED A ROBUST YET INTUITIVE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT BENEFITS BOTH COMPANY AND CONSUMERS.

Just like what Shopify has done for e-commerce, or what Fabric is doing for headless commerce, physical retail stores need a powerful plug-and-play operating system to empower seamless digital enablement for both staff and shoppers. 

Just imagine: Responsive, interactive window shopping. Fitting rooms that use technology like Fit:Match’s to scan your body type and help find your perfect fit. Endless aisle access to inventory powered by innovation from teams like Crave Retail. Frictionless in-person returns that put customer’s money back in their pockets as quickly and as easily as it restores inventory back into the system, just as Navar 要么 Happy Returns does in-store. Customer patterns and staff interactions are measurable, and purchase intent attribution is trackable via companies like Pathr.AI. The store itself acts as a stage from which shoppable live feeds can be cast, a la platforms such as ShopShops.

All of these technological components may exist in some aspect today, but the real trick will be combining them into one standard operating system to control and rule them all. With this enablement, the “store of the future” will make both retail management and in-person shopping as seamless in the real world as they are online. 

3. Buying is transactional. Shopping is emotional.

It may be an old adage, but it remains more true today than ever before. Emotions continue to be tied to which brands customers pledge loyalty to with their wallets, and it’s an opportunity that can be unlocked within brick-and-mortar stores. When curated carefully through ambiance, color, experience, sounds, scents, and more, retail environments are a narrative all their own. Brick-and-mortar acts as a canvas, painting a picture of an attainable, desirable lifestyle with your brand at the center.

Powering the story: knowledgeable store staff. A team that knows the customer, because they themselves are customers, and can tell shoppers what they need before they know it. A team that is empowered with data at their fingertips – data on past purchases, abandoned shopping cart interest, birthdays and special occasions, fit, style, and more. A team that brings the brand to life.

While technology and immersive experiences may be an integral part of the future of store design, human-centered connections and the emotions those interactions elicit will always be critical factors in consumer behaviors and loyalty.

Providing Opportunities: Mitch Smith

As one of the first 20 employees to join MG2, Smith quickly rose from project manager to CEO and chairman of the board by honing the craft of architecture. He perfectly balances delivery excellence with a design mindset, driving kinetic transformation long into the future.

“You can’t wait for a specific opportunity to arise to develop your staff,” Smith says. “You have to continually invest in and provide opportunities.”