Shoptalk 2025
‘What if retail therapy was actually therapeutic?”. That was the thought-provoking question posed Rituals founder Raymond Cloosterman. The luxury beauty brand grounded in accessible wellness, showcased how their stores are moving beyond transactions to become a meaningful, calming experience. The brand’s flagship House of Rituals exemplifies this vision, whilst their community hubs serve as mind oases where customers can escape stress and embrace calm, the new currency in luxury. And, from September, Rituals will introduce B2B turnkey wellness zones, offering businesses the tools to create their own calming spaces.
Wellness was a big theme at Shoptalk 2025 and the physical store will play a big role helping create moments of calm, connection, and purpose. It struck a chord with us at modernspace, as we often talk about the power of Restorative Retail.
At the same time WGSN talked that we might see the emergence of Wellness Fatigue, and with so much focus across all our channels, the media and marketing on fitness, gut health and ultra-processed foods, it’s easy to understand why some might feel that way. Rachel Tipograph, Founder & CEO of MikMak, also highlighted the decline in grocery bills for those taking the new weight loss drugs. It can be up to 20% and as their usage increases it’s something brands and retailers must consider.
Digitalisation and the digital-first consumer were also big topics. Not only in the automation of so many retail processes, but most dramatically in the transformation of product search and discovery. Weleda have seen a 20% growth through digitalisation, leveraging TikTok and celebrity endorsements to reach new audiences, and they’ve taken the brand in retail beyond traditional drugstores and into the luxury perfumery market by repositioning as Swiss Natural Science with focus on cell regeneration products.
There were also plenty of people reinforcing the importance of the physical store as the embodiment of the brand. Canada Goose have gone so far as to consider store staff as brand ambassadors, and flexibility in roles ensures everyone, even those in operations, contributes to the in-store experience. They foster genuine connections with customers and the feedback they get from stores helps the brand identify gaps in their offerings, such as the demand for shoes.
It was good to see that so many brands and retailers are now finding their balance of digital and the human touch in retail, but with all the talk of AI, particularly the rise of agentic, we are very excited to see where we all go next!
Published June 2025