Where will the retail industry be in 10 years’ time?

And while many naysayers claim that online and mobile ecommerce will spell the end of the high street, the shopping mall, the supermarket and other bricks ‘n’ mortar retail destinations, major retailers such as Walmart and shopping mall specialists such as Westfield certainly think otherwise.

These and many other ‘traditional’ retailers are adamant that new technologies – particularly AI-driven innovations – are going to complement and improve the physical retail experience for consumers.

And while we don’t yet know where the latest research and development into AI-powered retail technologies is going to take us in ten years’ time, it’s instructive to consider the latest ‘future gazing’ experiments and technology innovations of retailers such as Walmart and Westfield. And to consider their take on what the retail industry could be in 2028.

‘Extra-perience’ is the light on the horizon for in-store retail

Bricks ‘n’ mortar retail has not had the greatest year so far in 2018, with a slew of high-profile closures of high street stores from the likes of Marks and Spencer and chains such as Maplin and Toys R Us earlier this year. Yet a look at Westfield’s latest ‘Destination 2028’ concept mall clearly shows that there is light on the horizon for in-store retail.

Westfield’s visualisation of the shopping mall of the near-future is not merely an ‘artist’s impression’ of what the shopping mall giant would like its future centres to look like, but its based on input from experts including a futurologist, a fashion technology innovator, a retail specialist and experimental physiologists.

Destination 2028 is also, more generally, based on extrapolating from the latest technology trends in artificial intelligence, virtual and mixed reality and omnichannel retailing.

“As we celebrate ten years of pioneering retail in London we’re already looking forward to the next decade,” said Myf Ryan, Chief Marketing Officer at Westfield UK and Europe. “We’ll continue to work closely with brands to deliver innovative retail spaces that create the ideal environment for them and our visitors – including developing technologies that converge digital and physical shopping to enhance that Extra-perience in state-of-the-art surroundings.”

Personalised AI walkways through the mall of the future

Physical retail is not dying, it’s just changing. And these technological innovations driven by AI, ecommerce and omnichannel experiences are part and parcel of this evolution.

Perhaps the key learning from Westfield’s vision of the future shopping mall in Destination 2028 is that stores, malls and supermarkets are going to have to do considerably more than just sell products in future to survive and thrive.

Westfield’s vision combines the more traditional shopping pursuits with the latest in wellbeing experiences and leisure attractions, along with lots more temporary and flexible retail pop-ups and experience spaces. There’s also a ‘betterment zone’ with mindfulness workshops, and plenty of green space, waterways, plants, small allotments and even farms, where shoppers by produce direct from the producers.

Artificial intelligence, biometric sensors and mixed reality technologies combine to offer personalised walkways that will help each visitor to be offered recommended fast lanes to their favourite or regular stores and attractions. Meanwhile, in-store experiences will be massively augmented by virtual and mixed reality technologies, such as smart changing rooms that allow shoppers to select thousands of different outfits at the swipe of a touchscreen.

Walmart embraces artificially intelligent text message shopping

Over in the US, retail giant Walmart is testing out its own AI-powered mobile shopping experience of the future, called ‘Jetblack’ – a remarkably simple AI-powered SMS text shopping service that’s been in development at the retailer’s tech incubator ‘Store No. 8’.

Walmart’s customers will have sent a text to Jetblack with a request or an image for things they want, with the AI acting as their ‘personal shopper’, responding to them with relevant reviews, recommendations, questions and so forth. The service will help the shopper create a shopping list and then the goods will either be available to collect in their local Walmart or delivered by same-day or next-day delivery.

These are exciting developments for the retail industry at large: both driven by and inspired by the latest innovations that are taking place right now in the retail AI technology sphere.

Most importantly, both Westfield’s Destination 2028 and Walmart’s Jetblack AI personal shopper indicate that physical retail and omnichannel retail have a truly exciting future.