Futurist in the USA: From palm scanners to phygital spaces

This January I traded sunkissed rooftop drinks and long nights at the tennis for the sub-zero temperatures of the Northern Hemisphere for a three-week learning tour in the US. My first stop was Texas, attending the Professional Certificate of Foresight program at the University of Houston, then onto New York (where I’m writing this from), before I hop over the border to New Jersey next week for a two-day keynote speaking bootcamp.

I’ve been thinking about the future of retail recently, so being in one of the shopping capitals of the world seemed like a good excuse to find out how retailers are pushing the boundaries and engaging customers in their flagship stores.

New ways to pay: Hudson Nonstop / Whole Foods / Amazon One

One of my first glimpses into the future actually happened whilst I was in transit at LAX airport. In terminal 3 is a small shop selling snacks and drinks. All pretty standard until you notice the gates. As you enter, scan your payment card at the terminal before walking in and picking up what you need. Then you simply walk straight out of the store whilst the system works out what you purchased using cameras and scanners, and charges you accordingly. The initial launch of Hudson Nonstop (which is powered by Amazon One) was at Dallas Love Airport in 2021 and it’s been rolling out in more airports since.

The next day, I visited Whole Foods. At the checkout, a machine gave me the option to scan my palm to pay. Since Amazon purchased Whole Foods in 2017, the health-focused grocery store has been the lucky recipient of a number of Amazon’s new technologies. Once set up, you can attach your payment method, reward cards, and age verification to your palm scan via the Amazon One platform. Meaning all of your checkout ‘tasks’ can be completed with a quick wave over the terminal.

Of course, whilst both of these technologies significantly reduce friction for the customer, they also raise some interesting questions around privacy, data collection, and data use. 

Personally I love the idea of not having to queue at the checkout in an airport where I’m typically in a hurry, and have done plenty of frustrating queueing already. But even as someone who generally ticks the ‘early adopter’ box, scanning my palm did feel like a new level of data to hand over (pun intended).

Let’s get phygital: Nike

High on my list to visit was the Nike House of Innovation on 5th Avenue; four floors dedicated to all things swoosh.

As a Nike fan, I already had the app and when I opened it, it knew where I was and prompted me to go into ‘in-store mode’. Once activated, I could scan any product barcode to see what was in stock, and request the size and style I wanted to be taken to either a pickup area or a changing room.

Overall, the phygital (physical + digital) experience was smooth, and I liked being able to self-serve seeing what was available. However, given this is their original House of Innovation, I was a little disappointed by how little innovation there seemed to be.

Be kind to your customers’ insecurities: Bottle Rocket

I don’t like to name-drop (but I will), this was a recommendation from Cindy Gallop, who I met with on Monday.

Bottle Rocket is a wine shop with a difference. And the difference is the way it organises its wines. Instead of throwing people into a state of intimidation, overwhelm, and confusion when walking into a wine store, it purposely organises its products by occasion.

Looking for a gift for someone you barely know, or for an old friend? It has a section labelled exactly for those situations. Want to know what wine you should pair with different meats and fish? Luckily, it has displays dedicated to different food groups, with friendly notes to hold your hand in your decision-making. For those who do know their way around a cellar, the wall displays are organised by country.

Walking into the store it was obvious where to start, and I thought its ethos of anti-gatekeeping was both smart and insightful of its customer pain points. It’s surprising that more bottle shops haven’t borrowed this approach.

Leverage new ways of living: Boisson

Keeping with the drinks theme, I popped into Boisson’s original branch in Brooklyn. Founded in 2021, Boisson is bringing non-alcoholic (more often known as NA) beers, wines, and spirits to the masses in its rapidly expanding range of boutique stores.

Interestingly, in 2023 Boisson took a US$5 million bridging investment from the venture capital arm of global alcohol giant Pernod Ricard. A sign that some incumbents know that their market and future audience are changing, and they need to be part of that if they want to maintain relevance.

I enjoyed the minimalist store design that champions beautifully designed products from around the world (including British/Australian brand Lyre’s), and the friendly service ready to help new explorers dip into NA for Dry January, or experienced tea-totallers discover a new brand or flavour profile.

The right to repair: Patagonia and Fjällräven

It’s been a long time since I was last in the Northern Hemisphere in winter, so I quickly found my way to Patagonia and Fjällräven to enhance my winter wardrobe. Both SoHo stores had repair centres, where you can take your clothes and equipment to be fixed; a play that both brands are making as part of their commitment to reducing their environmental impact.

Concept to the max: The Ripped Bodice and Warby Parker

Warby Parker sells eyeglasses. They’re reasonably priced with a big selection of modern styles. Instead of a clinical space like many opticians, they have turned their SoHo store into a mock library. Complete with big towers of books, reading lamps along long desks, and artwork depicting famous New York libraries, it’s easy to forget what you’re really in the store for.

The Ripped Bodice is a small bookstore that stocks a wide range of diverse romantic fiction. Its original Los Angeles location opened in 2016 off the back of a successful Kickstarter campaign to bring the concept to life, and its Brooklyn spot followed in August 2023. Behind the vibrant pink exterior is an explosion of open books over the walls and ceiling, well-thought lighting, and a couple of red velvet wingback chairs for good measure.

What I love about both of these examples is that they confidently show what’s possible when you go beyond minimalist trends and make a bold choice with your store aesthetic.

Did I see the future of retail?

This extended shopping trip was equal parts interesting and underwhelming.

There were some glimmers of the future with stores targeting emerging lifestyle markets like non-alcoholic drinks, more integrated phygital approaches, and new ways to pay that remove inherent friction in the physical shopping experience. But overall, retailers still seem to have a way to go to really innovate on what are essentially still variations of ‘things in a room that you can buy’.

This makes me wonder if the bigger innovations in retail and consumer are going to be more philosophical, rather than physical. Especially around climate, over-consumption (see: the Stanley cup craze), and diversity and accessibility to meet the needs of changing demographics.

(Now I’ve written this article, I assume everything I bought is tax deductible?)

Steph Clarke is a futurist and facilitator based in Melbourne.