Louis Davies, Retail Director for Compass One, gives his predictions for some of the key retail trends we are likely to see over the next 12 months.
High-quality 24/7 retail provision
In recent years, employers have increasingly recognised the need to ensure that those working outside regular office hours aren’t disadvantaged when it comes to welfare provision, with food and drink playing an important part. This coupled with rising consumer expectations means demand for high-quality 24/7 retail services will continue to grow.
Over the past few years, we’ve been on a journey with how we can meet these requirements by leveraging technology and developing our formats. We’re now able to deploy a variety of solutions, from smart markets to frictionless stores, with offers tailored to meet individual requirements. Crucially, we can do this at no extra cost to our clients.
Influence of AI and technology
AI and technology will continue to impact retail in a variety of ways, from changing how operational tasks are delivered and enhancing the customer experience to providing a better understanding of buying behaviours. New technologies will continue to transform the retail landscape for colleagues, consumers and clients.
We’ve introduced AI-based systems to support and automate everyday tasks, freeing our teams to focus on customer service and store presentation as well as helping our managers to plan their time. For our customers, new technologies are enabling an enhanced shopping experience, including flexible opening hours, speed of service, product availability and ranging that reflects the requirements of varying demographics.
Importance of brands
Brands that resonate with consumers will continue to be a notable force in 2026. Purpose-led, functional brands that embrace technology will go on building emotional connections with shoppers, meaning people are willing to travel further and consistently buy more from companies they value. This provides an opportunity for soft FM providers who have the knowledge and insight of how to implement brands successfully into the workplace.
We’re experienced in navigating the complexities of getting brands into secure sites. Having worked with Greggs and Subway for several years and introduced the first Co-op on the UK Defence estate, all receive great feedback and perform really well. We can bring these benefits to smaller sites too, with big names like Costa and Starbucks available via our smart markets in locations that wouldn’t previously have had access to them. Just because a site doesn’t have huge footfall, that doesn’t mean we can’t provide a compelling retail experience.
Operating with purpose
In recent years, consumers have become increasingly interested in the social value credentials of the companies they are buying from – people want to know they are dealing with suppliers that operate ethically and give back. These ambitions also apply to businesses and government organisations as they seek to contribute to their communities and wider society.
Maximising social value is important to our business, our clients and our customers and we’re delivering this in a variety of ways. They include stocking social enterprise brands and charity merchandise, partnering with Olio to redistribute good-to-eat surplus food to local communities and working with organisations like Change Please coffee which helps people who have experienced homelessness into employment. We have some exciting plans in this space for 2026.
Upskilling of retail roles
Technology can remove mundane tasks, freeing up frontline colleagues to focus on important tasks such as engaging with customers and improving product availability. Across the sector, we’ll see colleagues becoming less siloed and restricted in their roles. This multiskilling approach leads to better job satisfaction levels, automating tasks that often are cited as repetitive and boring.
We’ve witnessed significantly improved engagement and morale as our retail teams are empowered to grow, whether that’s learning to work with cutting edge technologies or enhancing their customer service skills. We remain committed to positioning retail as an exciting and varied career choice and we’re able to offer industry-leading training and opportunities for those who wish to progress.
