Perspectives
Ask the Expert Series | August 2026
Interviewer: Colleen Gregg, Partner, Hall & Partners
Expert: Dave Savage, Vice President, C Space
Executive Summary: Retail is being reimagined: physically, experientially, and relationally. In this edition of Interview with an Expert, Colleen Gregg speaks with Dave Savage of C Space about the retail trends shaping 2026 and beyond, from AI-powered personalization and experiential retail to changing consumer behavior and the evolving role of sports retail.
What trends are shaping the future of retail and sports?
Q1: What emerging shifts will define the sector, and where is the industry least prepared?
AI-powered personalization in retail is becoming table stakes. Walmart continues expanding its AI shopping assistant capabilities, helping customers discover products, receive personalized recommendations, and streamline replenishment. In sports retail, consumers increasingly expect recommendations based on activity level, sport participation, purchase history, and even sustainability preferences.
Sustainability is shifting toward practicality. Consumers remain interested in environmental impact, but many are prioritizing affordability first. Retailers are finding greater success when sustainability initiatives deliver both environmental and economic benefit. IKEA's expanding resale, buy-back, and refurbished furniture programs work precisely because they frame the environmental benefit alongside the cost saving.
The purchase journey has become radically more complex.Over 70% of consumers compare prices across three or more retailers before buying. What was once a straightforward path has become a layered sequence of research, social validation, reviews, price comparison, and only then a decision. Product reviews, AI assistants, video demonstrations, and user-generated content are now critical influences, even for purchases ultimately made in-store.
Where are the biggest opportunities and what do they look like in practice?
Q2: Which intersections of these trends create the most compelling opportunities?
The retailers who win will find the overlap between two or more of these shifts and build there.
Fleet Feet combines foot-scanning technology with AI recommendation algorithms to suggest products based on foot shape, arch structure, width, and purchase history. Instacart's Caper Carts take this further into the physical store. These smart shopping carts can surface personalized product recommendations and coupon offers in real time. Put ground beef, tortillas, and cheese in the cart while shopping for taco night, and the cart may prompt you with salsa recommendations in the next aisle. Grocers including Schnucks, Wakefern, and ALDI are early adopters, but the applications extend well beyond grocery.
Meanwhile, Lululemon is redefining experiential retail and extending the brand lifestyle into physical experiences. Customers can attend local fitness classes, running meetups, or meet elite fitness ambassadors.
The business impact for Lululemon is substantial:
- Stronger emotional connection to the brand
- Higher customer engagement
- Increased word-of-mouth advocacy
- Greater customer loyalty
…and, as a result, lower dependence on traditional advertising.
How is consumer behavior shifting and where does execution fall short?
Q3: What's changing fastest, and where is the gap between expectation and reality?
One of the fastest-shifting areas of consumer behavior in retail is their attitudes toward returns. Shoppers now evaluate return policies before they buy, expect the process to be fast and frictionless, and are more likely to stay loyal when it is. Retailers increasingly recognize returns as a profit, loyalty, and data lever.
Athleta's "Give-It-A-Workout Guarantee" illustrates the opportunity clearly: by actively encouraging real-world product testing before customers commit, the brand turns the return policy into a confidence builder rather than a liability.
The gap between expectation and execution remains widest here. Consumers expect seamlessness; many retailers still treat returns as an operational problem to minimize rather than a relationship moment to own.
Staying close to consumers means getting immersed in their lives; not just testing messages with them.
Vice President, C Space
Key Takeaways
AI personalization is table stakes in retail and sports: the differentiation now lies in execution quality, not capability
Sustainability messaging lands best when paired with a practical, economic benefit for the consumer
The purchase journey is no longer linear. Social validation, reviews, and price comparison happen long before any store visit
Physical retail is winning by becoming more experiential and community-driven: Lululemon proves destination shopping drives measurable commercial results
Returns are a loyalty and data opportunity, not just a cost. The brands that own the post-purchase experience build stronger relationships
Consumer insight must go beyond transaction data to understand the full human context of how people shop and decide
From selling equipment to enabling participation
The future of sports retail isn't simply selling equipment. It's helping people participate in sports, becoming what Dave Savage calls the consumer's "sports partner": present and useful before, during, and after the purchase. Many consumers have already made their decision before they walk through the door. Retailers need to make the entire journey feel like it was built for them.
At Hall & Partners, we help retail and sports brands stay close to shifting consumer behavior by connecting the human signals inside data to the strategic decisions that turn insight into growth.
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Learn how we can deliver actionable insights and creativity to drive brand growth.
Key Questions
The sports retail purchase journey is now embedded in consumers' daily lives. Parents tracking equipment needs alongside their children's evolving brand preferences, consumers researching across YouTube, Reddit, and social platforms before a single store visit. Staying close to that reality requires getting immersed in how consumers actually live, think, and decide.
Consumers increasingly expect stores to offer more than products. Experiential retail creates opportunities for people to try equipment, learn new skills, attend community events, and build confidence before making a purchase. For sports retailers, these experiences strengthen emotional connections with the brand while increasing customer engagement, dwell time, and loyalty.
AI is making retail more relevant by helping consumers discover products, receive personalized recommendations, compare options, and shop more efficiently. The greatest value comes when AI complements human decision-making, delivering recommendations that reflect individual needs, preferences, and shopping context rather than simply promoting more products.
Sustainability remains important, but consumers increasingly expect it to deliver practical value alongside environmental benefits. Initiatives such as resale programs, refurbished products, and buy-back schemes succeed because they help consumers save money while making more sustainable choices. Retailers that combine affordability with sustainability are often better positioned to earn long-term trust.
Retail is evolving faster than ever, with changing consumer expectations, new technologies, and increasingly complex purchase journeys. Consumer insight helps brands understand not just what people buy, but why they buy, what influences their decisions, and where expectations are changing. This enables retailers to make more confident decisions about product innovation, customer experience, marketing, and long-term growth rather than relying on assumptions or historical data.
