5 new ‘shops’ highlighting the evolution of in-store customer engagement

Comments made earlier this year by Rita-Rose Gagné, the soon-to-retire CEO of commercial property and shopping centre owner Hammerson, really highlighted the changing face of physical retail.

Reflecting on a “transformative” year for her business, which has repositioned itself in recent years by selling assets and changing strategy to keep up with market changes, she spoke in February’s annual results statement about the “flight to quality” of Hammerson’s occupiers – a large majority of which are retailers.

“Cities are engines of economic growth, and we have concentrated our portfolio on exceptional assets in some of Europe’s fastest growing and most vibrant cities,” she explained.

“Second, the flight to quality where occupiers want fewer and more productive stores in only these locations, enables us to attract leading global and local brand partners. Third, the physical experience has become more relevant for consumers and our brand partners, with at least 80% of all retail transactions touching a store.”

Prime city locations, stores that do more with the space they occupy, and spaces that play a major part in the customer journey even if sales don’t physically take place there: that is mainstream retail’s current store strategy in a nutshell.

I thought I’d highlight some new store openings in 2025 so far that epitomise this. They are not in Hammerson-owned property, but they neatly support Gagné’s summary of modern bricks and mortar retail.

JD Sports’s largest store in the world

On 7 June, JD unveiled a 41,000 sq ft flagship at Manchester’s Trafford Centre – a space that is more than triple the size of the shop it ran before at that location.

A huge replica of a JD duffle bag was situated high near the roof of the shopping centre to mark the new opening in an example of loud marketing – and JD is describing the shop as a “celebration of our roots” being so close to where it opened its first ever store.

The launch day live music sets from Central Cee and Nemezzz gave an indication of the young community vibe the store will aim to create in the months ahead, and there’s a real sense of place when you visit this shop, emphasised by its nod to local creatives and Manchester talent showcased inside.

There are digital screens aplenty combined with approachable staff, as well as a gaming area, revolving fixtures and fittings, and places to test your fitness and try out new products such as a running machine and a Montirex-sponsored challenge area.

It’s hard to emphasise enough how huge a store this is, taking a significant chunk of the ground floor Regent’s Crescent area – and it comes to market as a digitally-enabled physical shopping space that is a destination. It’s certainly not just somewhere to pick up a pair of trainers.

Gymshark’s first permanent international store

Gymshark kickstarted its year with the opening of its first permanent international store, which is located on the ground floor of Dubai Mall. A busy site that welcomes more than 54 million shoppers through its doors every year.

The arrival of the brand in the Middle East follows the launch of localised e-commerce services in the region that offers a dual language site and app, same-day delivery. In this day and age, the physical and the digital have to go hand in hand – and the former online-only Gymshark has realised that with what is its third store after the two in London.

An example of the combination of this cross-channel connectivity in action in Dubai is the strong provision of personal shopping suites at the store, with consumers able to communicate with staff and book a personal shopping experience and consultation via WhatsApp.

In a press statement, Gymshark general manager of wholesale & retail Hannah Mercer said of the Dubai Mall space: “Opening the doors to our first permanent store outside the UK is a huge step in our omnichannel strategy.

“The team has done such a good job getting us to this stage and I can’t wait to see where we go next.”

Vans ramping up CX

A skate ramp made from travertine stone is the centrepiece item at fashion retailer Vans’ latest London West End store, which opened in December 2024. There aren’t many brands that could get away with that.

But what Vans has done with the 200 sq m decoration is install a temple in the eyes of its customers and target audience – something that is part of their identity and reason for shopping with Vans in the first place. The ramp will be used for regular skate lessons, demos, and events but it can also be reconfigured to give the store some layout flexibility and multiple ways to merchandises products.

Vans doesn’t have fixed payment terminals in the Oxford Street store either, and with most footwear displayed on the perimeter walls and space in the centre primarily given to seating and consultation areas, this store is practical as well as inspirational. The space lends itself to staff being proactive with their customer engagement and busts the need for customers to queue.

Service-led Pets at Home

Pets at Home started 2025 with four recently-opened concept stores in operation, which – in the company’s words – aim to provide “a truly customer centric experience for pet owners and convey the full Pets at Home omnichannel offering”.

With digital and interactive screens to help educate and guide customers, and customers able to do things like build their own fish tank on a screen, these new Pets at Home spaces have been modernised and positioned as centres of service.

They are supported by ever-increasing-in-speed click & collect services, including same-day offerings and, as CEO Lyssa McGowan told Retail Week in May, a change in store staff function is also coming into play. The retailer phased out the assistant manager layer in stores earlier this year and – instead – created a more “senior customer experience lead” job title.

The new job and positioning is further evidence of the service offering at Pets at Home – it’s a specialist retailer that knows it needs to provide genuine expertise in its field if it is to continue to grow and keep driving traffic into its shops. To do that, Pets at Home understands it has had to adopt a unified commerce approach and upskill its people.

Co-op ‘inspired by McDonald’s’

There’s in-store innovation going on in grocery too.

Matt Hood, Co-op managing director, said in January 75 new stores would open in 2025, with 80 undergoing refurbishment. The key is to “maximise the potential of Co-op’s existing portfolio of properties” – and a significant part of that is making the store more of a player in the online food ordering process.

Co-op already calls its stores “micro-distribution hubs for its online home delivery operation”, with customers able to pick up orders made on the Co-op website in store as well as order from JustEat, Uber Eats, and Deliveroo for home delivery straight from their local store. Talking at Retail Week and The Grocer’s Live 2025 event in February, Co-op e-commerce director Chris Conway said he encourages his team to look outside the industry and towards McDonald’s for inspiration and the direction of travel in terms of store layout and function.

By that he means having the walk-in shopping element side by side with a food-to-go element. Stores need to evolve to make it easier for third-parties and online pickers to get the goods available for a digital “quick commerce” orders ready, while not impacting the core traditional shopping experience.

That’s the vision for Co-op, and it has invested in tech to support store staff navigate this new world much more easily than they were doing so before. New functions and the nod to digital will be seen in the Co-op growth story this year, which began with a shop arriving at Salford Quays in January.

Rachel Hargreaves, director of property, development & estates at Co-op, said at the time: “Our stores are designed to be a destination locally, a community hub combining great quality products, value, deals and ethical retailing with quick online delivery services, community participation and additional customer services.”

We’ve known it for a while now, but stores are so much more than places to spontaneously pick up some goods now.

These five examples of shops new to the scene in 2025 underline that evolution and show how tech in the hands of staff, interconnectedness with the digital operation, and a fundamental focus on elevating the experience for customers through high-level service are key drivers for physical retail success in the modern age.