Key Trends for Retail Design in 2019
As ever more shoppers move online, striking retail design is more important than ever. But as with any industry, trends abound. Here we look at some of the biggest retail design trends for the coming year
Bold Colour Schemes
Colour will form a central part of many interior design schemes in the next year, with bold shades leading the way. Colour blocking is increasingly being used to eye-catching effect, particularly for zoning and to encourage particular customer behaviours. However, it’s not the only colour trend seeing a rise: chromatic colour, where multiple shades of a single hue are used, is also proving popular. While the former is particularly effective in youth-orientated retail experiences, the latter is growing in the luxury space.
Experiential Retail
As the internet continues to lure shoppers away from physical stores and restaurants, retail spaces are looking beyond simply being places to buy things and become entire experiences that extend beyond the core brand. Technology is increasingly being used to aid the retail experience, but spaces within stores that provide unexpected uses are also growing, as are museum-like environments that provide atmosphere and aesthetic rather than just purchasing power.
Wooden Wellness
The wellness trend has been rife in 2018, and it won’t be going anywhere in 2019, seeping into almost all corners of interior architecture. Providing a sense of relaxation and nature – perfect for brands that want to encourage customers to linger – it includes natural materials and planting. Dusky grey and mid-tone woods such as birch are proving popular in this space, finding a use as flooring, cladding, shelving and beyond.
Home Away from Home
Many retail environments have long sought to be friendly and welcoming, but this is seeping into sectors less associated with strong interior design. High street financial services, for example, are ditching austere traditional appearances in favour of home-like, open-place spaces, while other retail environments increase the provision of areas to relax and people-watch.
Old Meets New
With unique experiences being central to the brand values of a growing number of customers – particularly millennials and generation Zs – the ability to make a retail space feel unique is becoming particularly important. This is a challenge being solved in a myriad of ways, but one example is the refurbishment of old buildings with novel, modern twists to produce environments entirely unique to their settings.