Physical retail isn’t dying, but drowning in sameness. This is the viewpoint of Ian Johnston, Founder and Creative Director of Quinine Design and in this month’s Retail Insight, he explores why designing for function, not format, is the new imperative and how the most effective estates work as purposeful portfolios.
What is the role of the physical retail store in 2025?
There is no single answer. The role of the store in 2025 isn’t fixed. It’s not one-size-fits-all, in fact, it is one-size-fits-no one. In a world where customers, channels and expectations are in constant motion, static thinking is a liability. Yet we still talk about stores in binary terms: brand theatre or fulfilment hub, experience centre or sales machine. The truth is, our stores need to be all of those things – some of the time.
The key is to know which store does what, for whom and when. We’re shifting from standard formats to purposeful functions. From uniformity across the estate to utility tailored to context. The future isn’t about matching stores – it’s about meaningful ones. A store’s role is shaped by context – demographics, channel mix, competition, data, the neighbourhood pulse… And because that context changes, so must the store.
The biggest trap in retail is creating permanent solutions for fluid realities. Expectations shift. Competitors move in. Tech evolves. The store that makes sense today might need rethinking in 12 months. That’s not a flaw; it’s a feature of a modern retail estate. We need ecosystems, not monoliths. The future isn’t built on uniformity, it’s shaped by a portfolio of distinct store types, each with clear purpose and each designed to evolve with its context. No one store carries the full weight. Together, they deliver the full brand promise.
We’re rethinking what success means
It’s about the right store, in the right place, doing the right job. This isn’t always the highest sales per square foot. Sometimes the return is cultural, emotional, or brand-led. The most valuable stores may sell less but shape how people see the brand. Not every store can or should do everything. So we ask: What role does it play? What experience are we creating? How will it evolve?
Customer behaviour, technology and urban life evolve faster than store formats. It’s easy to end up managing what was, instead of designing what could be. To help shift your mindset, consider this exercise. Strip it all back. Forget the legacy estate. Forget leases, formats and sunk costs. Think of your retail estate as if it were a new town under development, with each phase of growth demanding a different kind of presence. Imagine that a new town is being built over the next decade. There’s land and potential, but no high streets, no footfall patterns, no brand presence. You decide what kind of store to create, where to go, when to show up and why it matters.
Phase one – Arrival without infrastructure
The town is just breaking ground and there are a few new homes and a handful of early movers. Your job is to spark trust and begin the relationship. The store is a flexible-format brand outpost – pop-up, modular or mobile. It sparks curiosity, starts conversations and plants a flag. Its purpose is to create early brand salience and to act as a magnet, not a megaphone. It offers useful, memorable, low-friction experiences. It doesn’t need to sell much, it needs to listen closely and learn fast.
Phase two – The town takes shape
In years two to four, the town develops its own rhythm. It’s no longer an outpost, it’s a place people move to and build habits around. Roads connect. The school run begins. Routine sets in.
Your role isn’t to shout louder, it’s to matter more and become part of the weekly rhythm. To be the place people turn to, not just when they need something, but because it’s part of their routine and habits. The original store becomes a service hub, a local fixer helping people get things working. A second opens where footfall flows faster, a retail turbine converting interest into action. A third appears in a leisure zone, focused on experience over utility. Less market stall, more brand theatre.
Each store finds its rhythm. Some fit the weekday dash, others the weekend wander. The best do both, useful and memorable by design.
Phase three – A thriving, competitive ecosystem
By years five to ten, the town is thriving. Pavements are busy. Other brands have moved in. Customers have generally made their choices. Your brand is familiar, recognised, maybe even liked. However, that’s not the same as being chosen again and again. By now, the goal isn’t to be noticed, it’s to be missed when absent.
Now the estate behaves less like a chain and more like an orchestra. Each store plays a role and together they create something greater than the sum of their fixtures.
The flagship is your lead violin, bold and expressive. The service hub keeps time. The community microstore hums in the background, local and habitual. The dark store works backstage, fast, efficient and quietly brilliant.
At this stage, you’re not chasing eyeballs, you’re holding hearts. Be the constant in a customer’s changing world. Reliable but never predictable and known but never stale. Always there, until it would be unthinkable not to be.
Conclusion: Designing for evolution, not erosion
Store purpose isn’t fixed, it’s shaped by context. Like a smart city, your estate should listen, learn and adapt, not follow rigid blueprints, but respond to how people live, move and change. What works in year one won’t in year ten. The goal isn’t permanence but progression. Design for motion, not for the moment. See your estate as a strategic lever, a purposeful living ecosystem that evolves with the people it serves and keeps your brand alive, relevant and resilient.
