Shoe retailers are shifting things up in store to better appeal to shoppers’ emotions and provide an improved shopping environment.
Brenda Hurlburt, a retail expert at The Look Co., sees three key trends based on her work with major retailers.
“Shoe retailers are reducing on-floor inventory and making more space, leading to open layouts, wide aisles and clear sight lines that improve the customer experience as they shop for footwear,” she said.
Footwear retailers are also integrating shoes within their apparel assortment mix, using dedicated zones for specific sports and lifestyles to allow customers to find full outfits easily. “Whereas retailers like Nike used to have shoes on the wall and clothing in the center of the floor, they will now work to integrate the layout and divide products based on the overall aesthetic the customer wants,” she said.
The final trend involves family-focused retailers, including Famous Footwear, Shoe Carnival and Shoe Sensation, which are ramping up their relationships with key brands.
Hurlburt said these merchants need to give each [label] their own moment in the sun. “To do this, they will use signage that’s easily interchangeable, flexible and adaptable throughout the year,” she said.
The Look Co. — which works with retailers that include Walmart, Skechers, Lululemon and others — recently conducted a study on 2026 retail design trends across North American retailers in the U.S. and in Canada.
The report found that retailers are moving away from in-store spaces that mimicked digital shopping experiences, led by digital screens and heavy inventory layouts.
The new trends now include modular, fabric display systems that can change with the seasons and store promotions, as well as room creations that allow more for an experiential environment that’s focused more than just on products. Retailers are looking to reduce the size of their stores and improve curation to prioritize a smaller, more targeted product selection.
“Customers are craving real-world experiences and retailers are paying attention. We’re seeing major retailers shift away from treating their stores solely as place to shop, and transforming them into opportunities for shoppers to escape their digital lives to interact with the real world,” said The Look Company’s North American CEO Gerry Price. “This means bringing in textures, colors and shapes from the outdoors, and prioritizing shoppers’ comfort. The stores that can do so will become places where shoppers want to go, rather than places they have to go, and those stores will win in 2026.”
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