Across Asia, retailers are redesigning stores from the ground up, rethinking how people shop, how employees work, and what a physical store is meant to be. From Singapore to Seoul, the store is no longer just a place to buy things. It is becoming a…
Across categories and geographies, leading brands are transforming physical spaces into dynamic environments that spark emotion, build community, and reignite the unique power of brick-and-mortar. Retail Innovations 2026 illustrates 16 brands and retailers prioritizing experience and competing on reasons to visit. For this week’s #ThemeThursday…
Three Forces Reshaping Retail: A Better World, Engaging Destinations and Easy Journeys Retail has always been an exciting—and demanding—business. Successful retailers must stay relentlessly focused on consumers who now have more choices than ever over where, when, and how they shop. With agentic AI accelerating…
Americans and visitors to the U.S.A. love a road trip. This summer, 84% of Americans plan to take a road trip with “micro-trips”, shorter 4-5 day trips, growing in popularity. Buc-ee’s, featured in our 2025 Retail Innovations, targets these road-trippers. Part of the fun of…
As the retail landscape continues to shift, Chicago’s shopping malls are evolving to stay relevant in an increasingly omnichannel world. McMillanDoolittle Director Amanda Lai joined NPR’s Chicago affiliate, WBEZ, on Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons for a recent segment exploring why some Chicago shopping centers are…
Quick service restaurants (QSR) are experimenting with next-gen concepts as consumers increasingly prioritize convenience, value, and experience and as business demands new models to address rising labor and food costs. This week, we showcase three concepts by Raising Cane’s, Whataburger, and McDonald’s. Each location differs…
Retailers win by continually enticing, exciting, and surprising consumers with innovative, creative, and new experiences. McMillanDoolittle always stays attuned to the latest innovation trends and shares insights to help our clients stay ahead. We invite our retail readers to discover the latest publication by the…
Wayfair opened the doors to its first-ever brick-and-mortar store yesterday in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, IL. Located in the revitalized Edens Plaza, the massive, two-level store spans 150,000 sq. ft. of space previously occupied by the department store Carson Pirie Scott. Described by the…
Apple unveiled the Apple Vision Pro in early February, marking the onset of the “era of spatial computing”. To explore the implications this holds for brands and retailers, our team at McMillanDoolittle demoed the device at the Apple Store located on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. For…
McMillanDoolitle recently released our 19th edition of Retail Innovations, an annual examination of the year’s most compelling themes driving global retail forward captured by cutting-edge concepts. For our third #ThemeThursday, we feature retail juggernaut IKEA’s recent alternative concepts in Copenhagen and Madrid that exemplify one…
