We recently hosted a webinar exploring the evolution of retail spaces, with a forward-looking lens on the trends transforming the sector in 2025 and beyond. The session was packed with powerful insights, provocative predictions, and practical inspiration for brands striving to stay relevant in a rapidly shifting retail landscape.

Hosted by George Smart, Director of Customer Solutions and Strategic Growth at APS, with expert speakers Kate Ancketill, CEO of GDR and industry renowned retail futurist, Finn Lawton, Senior Strategist, and Tony Massey, Executive Director, both APS. The event set the stage for a thought-provoking conversation on what’s driving consumer expectations and how brands can respond by inspiring awe and re-establishing an emotional connection.

Finn kicked off the insights by painting a picture of the current retail terrain. He shared how rising economic pressures, digital acceleration, and evolving lifestyles are reshaping how consumers shop – and what they expect in return. He underlined the importance of staying true to your brand and authentically embedding innovation rather than chasing ‘hype’.

AI is now a non-negotiable element of modern retail, and with the rise of agentic AI Kate discussed how with technology taking care of our more transactional purchases, people are free to do the ‘experiencing’ and increasingly crave more human-centric interactions.

People want brands to help them feel something – 61% of consumers say they want intense emotional experiences, while 63% seek multi-sensory encounters (Wunderman Thompson, The Age of Re-enchantment, 2023).

Consumers are seeking more than just transactions, they’re looking for added value, meaningful engagement and purpose-driven spaces where they can find moments of magic. Kate explored the rising demand for collective experiences including gamified product visualisation and enveloping 4D environments, to immersive storytelling and pop-ups curated around iconic brand features. She highlighted the importance of biophilic design, wellbeing-led experiences like communal saunas and breathwork spaces, and fully integrated AI-powered avatars bringing fun, personalisation and expertise to in-store shopping.

“The antidote to the ‘age of anxiety’ is awe-driven joy.”

Today’s retail must deliver on both practicality and purpose, to do this successfully and provide what your customers need and want it’s vital that you get to know who they are. From multi-functional spaces and circular economy initiatives including second-hand selling/buying and rental models, meaningful brand experiences are the future of retail. This webinar was a call to action for companies to reimagine their physical environments as places of wonder, connection and purpose.

The session concluded with Tony sharing how APS has helped leading retailers bring innovation to life with examples including gamification and cost-effective experiential design. Brands require creative strategies to cut through in an increasingly competitive space which is something our talented Retail and Brand Experience team are passionate about delivering. Talk to us today, [email protected].

Want to see the full trend forecast, including case studies and standout activations?

To receive a recording of the webinar, please fill in your details and a member of our team will be in touch with you soon.

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is a fascinating topic that cannot be avoided as it rapidly becomes more progressive, sophisticated and integrated within our day-to-day life. We brought together Gabrielle Robitaille, Associate Director of Digital Policy and AI Community Lead from the WFA, Maartje van Beek, Creative and Content Business Director and Len Borghuis, Motion Graphic Designer, both of APS, to discuss how the technology can realistically be used within your organisation, particularly within the creative process.

Hosted by George Smart of APS, the session saw these industry experts dive into all aspects of this revolutionary tool starting with some insightful research conducted by the WFA investigating how brands are currently using AI, where they are up to in their journey, and the main roadblocks to AI adoption.

At the time of publishing, of the companies using AI 84% say they are still in the very early awareness or development stages, with only 16% advising they are at a mature stage or further.

This shows there is still a tentativeness around this complex topic whilst brands are still learning how to navigate the risks, with legal concerns, upskilling and ethical concerns topping the list of apprehensions in relation to the technology.

For those businesses that have started to dip into the world of AI there are some extremely exciting developments into how it can aid the creative process, and it is no doubt transforming the marketing industry. Maartje presented some interesting use cases of how APS has used AI for both creative content and creative production, showing how automation can speed up repetitive tasks delivering efficiencies and saving resource for other creative projects that require a more human touch.

It’s not to say AI is perfect as there are still faults, it’s knowing how to work around these flaws and use AI effectively that can really give your brand a competitive edge. Len talks more about upcoming developments and trends, both good and bad, to give a fantastic, well-rounded insight into the way this technology is moving forward.

Here at APS, we thrive on innovation and aim to keep abreast of ever-evolving technologies to find the best solutions for our clients, enabling them to maximise efficiencies in both resource and budget. Our team will work with you to make innovative yet practical recommendations. Talk to us today, [email protected].

To receive a recording of the webinar, please fill in your details and a member of our team will be in touch with you soon.

In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, the way businesses communicate with their customers is constantly evolving. Digital communications, offering speed, efficiency, cost savings, and environmental benefits, are increasingly becoming the standard.

However, transitioning customers from traditional paper-based methods to digital alternatives presents challenges. Despite the undeniable advantages, many customers remain attached to paper, either due to habit, lack of awareness, or perceived benefits. We explore strategies that can help businesses encourage customers to embrace digital communication while considering their concerns and motivations.

Digital communications provide significant advantages over traditional paper-based methods, whether that’s cost savings, quicker to implement, increased and trackable customer engagement or sustainability reasons. However, understanding customer behaviour in terms of their motivations and potential barriers is important so that you can develop the right strategy for your customers. This will then enable you to focus on strategies that will encourage the transition to digital. For example, exclusive content may work well for some customers, but others may need something more tangible like monetary incentives.

Strategies could include

• Incentives are particularly advantageous when a customer may feel the company is benefitting from cost-savings
• Education and awareness through workshops or tutorials to inform your customers
• Simplifying your processes so that it’s easy for customers to switch, ensuring your platform is flexible, user-friendly and mobile optimised
• Building trust to address privacy concerns and being transparent on how you collect and use data. Alongside this, you need to ensure a robust customer support system is in place and accessible online, to facilitate those transitioning
• Highlight the environmental impact on switching from paper to digital
• Leverage technology that facilitates quick and convenient communication, such as SMS or WhatsApp

Of course, measuring and reporting on your strategies is vital to record what is working or where improvements can be made. Customer feedback is crucial at this stage to ensure you understand all blockers or complexities for a customer to make the switch.

At APS, we can guide your organisation through this process and our team are on hand to advise at every step to ensure a smooth and effective transition for your cutomers and greater digital adoption.

You can download the full version of this report below for more information.

Last week, we brought together Mike Bambrick from the Brand Experience Group (BXG) and our Head of Strategy and Planning, Melinda Lang, to give you a peek into how we make the most out of our client’s marketing budgets.

The BXG tried and tested methodology has been tweaked and validated by business schools, trade associations, and businesses over the last 27 years, delivering a truly unique, accurate, and simplified way to measure the motivations of your consumers, producing effective and efficient marketing campaigns.

Our experience has shown that most brands across all sectors are spending 30% of their marketing budgets ineffectively.

At APS we work with our clients to define and deliver their communications strategy, across multiple touchpoints. The proliferation of marketing channels and the growth of associated data have caused marketers to struggle to know where to focus in this increasingly complex landscape. This is compounded by the fact that more than 4 in 10 industry metrics do not effectively show marketing performance and commercial success. So, it’s no wonder that only a quarter of CMOs feel confident in the ability to measure the ROI of their media spend (DMA Report, 2021).

We help brands and marketers address two core problems. Firstly, create a unified value so that you can compare insights across multiple touchpoints, and secondly to understand how your sustainability strategies are interpreted by consumers and the impact of these results on your market share.

If you would like to receive a recording of the webinar, please fill in your details and a member of the team will be in touch with you shortly. Or, if you would like to explore how our approach can make your marketing campaigns more efficient, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch at [email protected]