We foresee new worlds of product, service and experience which reinvent the ‘new’. Supported by agile infrastructures, models of community exchange offer ways to reduce waste, increase longevity while offering access to culture and novelty.
Here we unpack 3 critical themes for Future Retail;
—The French government has pledged €154m to incentivise a culture of repair- aimed at reducing fashion waste going to landfill.
Brands are curating a culture of quality through the provision of repair services, increasing longevity. Rab Repairs, Sojo App and United Repair Centre are creating pathways to repair- from a personal to commercial- with benefit for community and planet.
How can brands expand their product stewardship and longevity services to increase perceptions of quality and craftsmanship?
—Across industries, subscription models are the new norm. From clothing to furniture and beyond- facilitating new approaches to brand driven material stewardship.
OnRunning’s Cyclon is a subscription running shoe made of castor. Recapturing the ‘waste’ of repeat purchase products and lifestyle staples- returning them as raw material for your next pair of fresh kicks.
How can a mindset of use of ownership support new circular supply services for our day to products?
—According to a report by ThredUp, the resale sector grew 5X as much as the broader retail clothing sector in 2022.
As a culture, we are caught between a conditioning for novelty and an increasing awareness of the destruction inherent in fast consumption models. Depop solves this predicament through peer-to-peer resale; ‘Everything you want already exists’.
How can we communicate new pathways to resale, unlocking brand value and relevance through cultural curation?
—Storytelling through experiential retail is reshaping our perception of second hand- how we invest in our wardrobe is ever more linked to our values.
Selfridges hosted The Stock Market, a resale and repair hub positioned in London’s most established luxury retail store- celebrating ethical fashion as asset.
How can resale brands curate lifestyle stores, platforming regenerative services and products to a customer base looking to engage with an invested approach?
—Retail spaces have their own shelf life, the seasonal demand for merchandising updates and new spacial configurations producing huge volumes of waste.
The palette of circular architectural materials is expanding, ranging from the soft engineering of Alted Material paper tiles to the material honesty of Mogu mycelium panelling.
How can the spaces we curate be built with its end of life in mind? What does a fully circular store look like? Could your store be fully compostable?
—As we rethink our habits of consumption and use, new models are emerging which can support more than their functional intent.
Library of Things are bringing the rental revolution to a community space near you- subverting our assumptions of ownership and offering access to product as amenity.
How could rental and sharing infrastructures create a sense of place and community, facilitating connection through shared resources?
