Stores are becoming sanctuaries for exploration, connection, play and creativity. Discover seven dopamine-fuelled design trends to offset anxiety, fear and boredom
Candice Medeiros
03.12.25 – 6 minute
Need to know
WGSN has identified Strategic Joy as a key emotion for 2027, and retailers can tap into it by building fun, play, and creativity into their store designs, providing stress relief and self-care for shoppers.
Opportunity
Shopping is becoming more than just a transaction in a period of heightened stress – it’s becoming an emotional escape for consumers. Playful colours, gamified experiences and high-touch designs are transforming stores into dopamine-fuelled destinations that not only increased well time and engagement, but also provide inspiration and comfort.
Play and emotioneering will become increasingly important for building connections and community with shoppers in the coming years. A 2023 VML report found that almost twice as many consumers are likely to buy from brands that elicit joy (49%) or delight (45%) than from brands that just sell (26%). This appetite for joyful retail will lead to growing demand for customisable experiences and mood-lifting store interiors. STEPIC forecasts: Strategic Joy, Play Power, We & Me, Glimmers
Strategies
Sensory-charged colours: create immersive spaces with vibrant hues, using the emotive power of colour to elicit joy and wonder
Participatory playscapes: encourage shoppers to have fun, sparking inspiration and joy through gamification and high-touch experiences
Theatrical props and fixtures: experiment with kitsch, nostalgic or chaotic themes to gain attention and drive foot traffic
Stimulating surfaces: celebrate tactility in store designs, from fuzzy fixtures to rippled displays that add depth and character to spaces
Pattern play: layer expressive, quirky patterns and designs into stores to create micro-moments of joy
Investigative and exploratory: create spaces that encourage curiosity, daydreaming and slowing down, also incorporating elements of surprise
Relevant industries: fashion, beauty, interiors, hospitality, sports and outdoor
Proof points
Sensory-charged colours
Use emotioneering to create brilliantly colourful and uplifting retail spaces.
Strategies
Focus on the physiological and symbolic impacts of colour – tones that can calm us, energise us or even unite us – to appeal to the New Nihilists consumer persona
Punctuate spaces with eccentric details and accents. Use one colour or shade in an all-over application to make a bold impact
As values such as community continue to become key drivers for purchasing and loyalty, using colour to bring visceral storytelling to life. Studies show that bright colours in cities can boost morale, helping people feel happier and more connected to their community
For a temporary take on this trend, use prismatic lighting and reflective surfaces to create immersive, sensorial and escapist spaces
A dazzling rainbow flows down from the ceiling, enveloping diners in vibrant colours and refractive forms creating an immersive dream-like atmosphere at Red Eye Bono restaurant in Beijing
In action
At its new store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, adidas created an escapist environment for shoppers using prismatic tinted windows and vibrant coloured displays
Lululemon‘s GlowUp Studio pop-up in New York City is entirely covered in electric pink hues, bring a dopamine rush to the fitness-focused space
UK department store Fenwick leveraged the emotive power of colour for its green-hued Departments of Taste shop-in-shop, using reflective materials to amplify the visual impact
Leveraging colour as IP, IKEA unveiled its Hus of FRAKTA on London’s Oxford Street, creating an entirely blue store dedicated to its iconic bag
Neon-coloured displays inside outdoor retailer Stone Island’s Paris flagship create a striking focal point that jolts customers with awe
Fashion brand Fake Gods’ Madrid flagship uses an illuminated-panel ceiling to give the impression of a celestial sky, pairing this feature with gradient blue walls and striking orange columns
Participatory playscapes
Embrace the power of play in fun and joyful ways to appeal to shoppers who are craving emotional and creative release amid a prolonged period of global crises.
Strategies
Introduce entertaining or dynamic elements that can positively disrupt the IRL shopping experience in a way that can’t be replicated online
Push the boundaries of the pop-up by incorporating interactive architectural features such as vending machines that encourage exploration, activation and discovery
Create touchpoints baked in nostalgia. The rise of the kidult shopper reflects a growing desire for nostalgia and stress relief among adults, making them gravitate towards playful experiences and products that evoke childhood memories
Shift your philosophy from service provider to memory provider. Retail playscapes can be the ultimate way for brands to demonstrate a brand’s overarching efforts to mobilise community-building – particularly for social-hungry Gen Z. Be sure to deprioritise mere product sales for more authentic, community-led events to create long-term brand value and loyalty
Louis Vuitton x Murakami‘s playful art-as-entertainment retail pop-up in New York City featured a purple vending machine with collectible gifts, accessible to visitors after they made a purchase
In action
The One by One boutique in Kyiv injects play directly into the retail experience with an in-store ball pool
A travertine ramp forms the centrepiece of the Vans West End store in London to celebrate skateboarding, music and art
In Tokyo, Coach‘s Play Cat Street store was designed through Harajuku‘s imaginative lens. It hosts arts and culture events, helping foster deeper community connections
Transforming its store into a launchpad for playful experiences, The Mark Gonzales pop-up in Seoul takes the form of an interactive and brightly coloured car wash
An atrium inside the Neobio shopping centre in Shenzhen, China, was designed by X+Living as a “dream city” where children can explore while their parents shop and relax
Theatrical props and fixtures
Embrace maximalism with oversized fixtures and over-the-top displays.
Strategies
Use your brand’s most recognisable products in unexpected ways, reinforcing them as parts of the architecture itself. This will renew the shopping experience as engaging and accessible, and can also spotlight your brand heritage in a creative way
Offer consumers a joyful reset that balances stimulation with serenity by incorporating surreal and monolithic structures into stores
Jolt shoppers out of their comfort zone through atypical layouts, props and new formats. See our Chaotic Commerce forecast for more exciting and emotionally compelling store design strategies
Install display features that would typically be seen in galleries, such as plinths and sculptural tables, to showcase products like works of art, presenting the store as a gallery
South Korean beauty brand Tamburins’ new store in Shanghai features oversized roses, vines and plants for a surreal and eye-catching experience
In action
Food retailer 20/WOL’s latest shop in Jakarta, Indonesia, is anchored by an oversized kneaded dough form in concrete, encouraging passersby to stop and peek inside
Fashion retailer Run To The Future’s store in Chengdu, China embodies the brand’s ethos of breaking free from convention, merging retro-industrial aesthetics such as walls adorned with typewriters that elevate retail theatre
Tamburins‘ store in Tokyo features props that reference the brand’s new range of vegetal-inspired perfumes
South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster is known for its surrealist props and spatial storytelling, seen here at its latest concept store in Milan’s 10 Corso Como
Four gravity-defying luggage towers greet shoppers in the atrium of Louis Vuitton’s new 57th street store in New York
A giant mannequin set against symmetrical displays creates a gallery-like feel at Skims’ new store on Fifth Avenue in New York
Tapping into the retail x sports convergence, Supreme’s new store in Shanghai features a Formula 1 race car
Stimulating surfaces
Design displays and surfaces with feel appeal, bringing unexpected depth and character to spaces.
Strategies
Style spaces with an eccentric air, applying texture, colour and pattern in an authoritative and joyous way
Leverage tactility as therapy by creating multisensory spaces. The EY Future Consumer Index highlights the importance of sensory retail design, finding that 57% of global consumers want to see, touch and feel products before buying them
Use all-over wall applications such as stucco or rendering, taking tone and textural inspiration from your brand DNA in order to weave a narrative into the design
Stimulate the senses without overwhelming shoppers through plush surfaces and refined store designs that emphasise serenity and escapism
The joint Amsterdam pop-up of Dutch fashion brand Kassl Editions and Swedish shoe brand Tretorn features padded maroon walls, creating a strong narrative that incorporates elements of each brands’ aesthetics
Ye Xiao Xiao’s store in China boasts walls in creamy shades of beige and brown with dried leaves scattered on the floor, celebrating the natural ingredients of the brand’s products
Rippling reflective acrylic walls and displays blur the lines between product and store design in jewellery brand Charlotte Chesnais’s boutique in Paris
Plush carpets, elegant drapes, cosy seating and ornate lighting add a layer of romanticism to fashion brand Maria Lucia Hohan’s store in Bucharest
Tea brand PIMS‘ latest outpost in Dubai takes cues from the desert, featuring natural tones and textures that reflect the location’s unique character
Design firm dongqi used natural stone walls for a grotto-like interior at the 15 ESSENTIALS store, creating a calming environment for aromatherapy while showcasing the brand’s products
Jewellery brand Sarah & Sebastian‘s Melbourne store in Australia takes inspiration from the textural juxtaposition of land and sea, including a mirrored gloss epoxy inspired by ocean kelp and fuzzy moss-like seating