FRAME’s editor in chief Floor Kuitert and contributing retail editor Alexander Hawkins delve into the evolving dynamics of consumer behaviour and retail design.

Together, they discuss how brands can address the often-contradictory demands of different generations, why retail spaces must evolve into platforms for connection and learning, and how technology-enhanced experiences will further reshape sellingscapes, both on- and offline.Their full conversation can be read in the upcoming issue of FRAME Magazine, out next month, but here we pre-release some of the key topics.

Contradictory consumer demands

Alexander: ‘Today’s consumer landscape is complex, not only because of the diversity of generations at play, but also because of the contradictory behaviours within each. Gen Z, for instance, is said to value inclusivity and sustainability, yet their loyalty is often fleeting and swayed by fast-moving trends and social kudos. At a surface level, millennials champion purpose-driven brands and thoughtful consumption, but they are also hooked on convenience. Boomers and Gen X, meanwhile, often gravitate towards traditional notions of quality and heritage, though many now embrace online shopping where its conveniences add real value. Across all these groups, there’s a shared tension between wanting personalization and protecting privacy, as well as desiring value that doesn’t come at the cost of quality. It’s a tall order for retailers, but to navigate these contradictions, they need to balance agility and innovation with authenticity and cultural relevance.’

Alexander Hawkins believes that Coach’s Coachtopia initiative, a collaborative innovation lab founded by Coach to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in fashion, stands out because, beyond its community focus, it reimagines the narrative of craft. The StudioXag-designed Coachtopia pop-up store in Selfridges used recycled materials, including repurposed neon flex LED strips, recycled leather scraps and reclaimed wood. Photo Andrew Meredith

Floor: Some generations of consumers indeed seem to feel conflicted. Especially when it comes to matters of sustainability. In a recent online panel discussion, I spoke with representatives of Coach, StudioXAG and Space Available about the ways in which brands can offer consumers a sense of identity and belonging, how they can unify people in a common cause of trying to build a better world. Joon Silverstein, SVP of global marketing and sustainability at Coach and head of Coachtopia, a collaborative lab for innovation founded by Coach with a mission to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy in fashion, noted that we are seeing a lot of big shifts with the next generation of consumers. She said that ‘Gen Z is looking for brands that align with their values, and when it comes to sustainability, they expect brands to be agents of change’. Through speaking with hundreds of Gen Z consumers around the world, her team discovered that they often feel torn between their desire for self-expression and their concern for the planet and the climate crisis. These pressures require brands – and designers – to re-evaluate how they can create value for consumers in non-traditional, more sustainable ways.

Technology-enhanced interactions

Alexander: The shift from static marketplaces to a dynamic multiverse is picking up speed. More brands are weaving storytelling into their digital spaces. Instead of endless scrolling, we’ll soon see more curated, immersive e-commerce experiences and digital spaces that feel closer to cohesive brand worlds you can explore. What’s interesting about GenAI is how it’s transforming the design process itself, both online and offline. In the physical realm, it’s already become a tool for envisioning new kinds of dynamic retail spaces that merge creativity with function. For online environments, it could mean generating responsive browsing experiences that adapt to a user in real time or creating visually rich settings that feel more like destinations than websites. It’s a chance to rethink how we shop online and align this with what consumers now actually expect from brands.

Title image and above: After investing heavily in gaming and NFTs, Gucci has recently taken a more subdued approach to digital. Building on its early adoption of Apple’s Vision Pro headset, the brand has launched an immersive VR experience that offers a glimpse into its archives. Users can explore a digital version of Florence’s Palazzo Settimanni and interactive portals that reveal the design process behind the iconic Bamboo 1947 bag. Such examples suggest that luxury brands are deliberately slowing down their virtual experiences, prioritizing storytelling over gaming tactics. Image courtesy of Gucci

Floor: This idea of creating destinations instead of websites resonates with me. I read on Jing Daily recently how the luxury industry is addressing challenges like fluctuating profitability by leveraging technology to enhance storytelling, with Gucci as a prime example. The platform reports on the fact that after significant investments in gaming and NFTs – such as the Gucci Garden on Roblox, the Gucci Vault platform and a collaboration with crypto company Yuga Labs – the brand has recently taken a more subdued digital approach. Building on its early adoption of Apple’s Vision Pro headset, Gucci has introduced an immersive VR experience that offers a glimpse into its archives. Users can explore a digital version of Florence’s Palazzo Settimanni and interactive portals that reveal the design process behind the iconic Bamboo 1947 bag, typically inaccessible to the public.

What I find intriguing about this strategy is that it seems to intentionally slow down the virtual experience, with digital retail beginning to prioritize storytelling over gaming tactics. This shift represents a move towards a more reflective, narrative-driven approach to engaging audiences.

High street's shift to sustainability

Floor: High street brands, often criticized for being unsustainable and sometimes even unethical, are also looking to express their sustainability efforts through their physical stores. It brings to mind two recent examples. One is Cos’s new 352-m2 store in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter, featuring eco-friendly clay cladding, by Matteo Brioni in collaboration with Materials Assemble. Inside, recycled and repurposed materials highlight the brand’s focus on circularity and waste reduction. The design is supposed to underscore Cos’s commitment to reducing CO2 emissions, and to support a healthier indoor climate. But such ‘green’ store initiatives won’t completely offset the inherent unsustainability of the fashion industry at large. Although doing something might be better than nothing, are these brands, by making shopping environments feel more responsible, perpetuating the bigger industry problem?

Floor Kuitert observes that high street brands, often criticized for being unsustainable and sometimes even unethical, are increasingly looking to express their sustainability efforts through their physical stores. Zara’s latest concept in Lisbon, designed by Elsa Urquijo Architects, features both visible and invisible elements designed to support the brand’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its entire value chain, including advanced energy efficiency systems. Photo courtesy of Zara

Alexander: Sustainability-focused retail spaces like Cos’s Edinburgh store and Zara’s Lisbon flagship are an encouraging step in the right direction, but they’re not without complications. On one hand, these designs can make sustainability visible and tangible in different ways. But there’s a tension here. By creating these ‘green’ stores, brands risk perpetuating the allure of consumption itself – lulling shoppers into a false sense of security so that they ultimately feel better about buying more, rather than addressing the root issue, which remains the sheer volume of production and waste inherent in fast fashion. Spaces such as these may reflect a growing emphasis on circularity, but they won’t solve these brands’ – and indeed the industry’s – larger sustainability challenges. For retail spaces to truly drive behavioural change, they should strive to raise questions about the nature of consumption itself. This could mean creating environments that encourage customers to repair, reuse or rethink their purchases entirely – like we’ve already touched on, stores that prioritize services over sales, offering workshops on upcycling or transparency on the lifecycle of a product. The challenge isn’t just to make the act of shopping look and feel more responsible in a literal sense – it’s to reframe what that responsibility means in the first place.

There’s the evolution of retail as a service. So, offering value through education, experiences or genuine utility. This is what really shifts the focus from what you buy to how you engage with a brand. I’d love to see more of this.

Read their full conversation in the upcoming issue of FRAME Magazine, Issue 160, out next month.