Success in retail can massively hinge on how good the commercial architecture is. Some businesses struggle or fail because they don’t update spaces often enough. It can leave them languishing behind the competition or missing out to new businesses that give customers a better experience.

On the topic of updating retail spaces, what we want to do is have a look at some of the things that could become common trends in 2025. So, read on to see what you might want to consider for your own space.

Home design elements

One thing we are almost certain to see in 2025 is retail spaces utilising more elements of home design. This includes natural colours, textured surfaces, and vintage or retro touches.

For a long while, the focus with retail has been to create clean, industrial style interiors. However, this isn’t what people want to see today. The focus is now on ensuring they have a great experience when they visit a shop. So, ensuring there are elements that make it feel homey and comfortable will be really important.

Minimalist signage

A big part of ensuring customers have a good experience in retail spaces is making sure they can find their way around easily. So, you need to ensure you have signage to achieve this. Minimal Scandinavian or Japanese style designs with no clutter and clear information will likely be very popular. Make sure you have a hierarchy of visual information, with large signs for the most important details such as departments and smaller signs for things like promotions.

Flexible design elements

As we said above, businesses can struggle or fail if they don’t update their commercial architecture and spaces regularly to ensure they appeal to customers. Some don’t do it because of the cost of updating the designs of retail spaces, fixtures, and fittings. Luckily, there are some fantastic modern solutions that offer more flexibility. For example, you could have framing systems that are easier and cheaper to adapt. You can use them for displays and more.

Independent shopping

Easily the biggest disruptor to retail in the last few decades is the development of e-commerce. People can now buy anything they can imagine online. It has made it very difficult for lots of businesses.

Interestingly though, a lot of people still want to go to physical shops for the experience. However, many want to be able to browse and buy without talking to a person. As a result, there has been massive growth in the popularity of unmanned kiosks and pop-ups. Businesses should consider them.

Comfort spaces

More businesses today realise how important it is to get customers to spend time within their shops. It can translate to them engaging more and ultimately spending more. There are a number of interesting ways to do this. One that should be popular in 2025 is the creation of comfort spaces. These give customers places to rest and think about purchases. Ensure you choose comfortable seats and make sure the spaces are calming, quieter, and free of hustle and bustle.

Talk to us about commercial architecture

Coffey Architects is proud to support businesses, helping clients to create the properties that give them the best chance of success. We can design any spaces, from offices to shops and even galleries and libraries. Whatever you need, we’ll ensure you get it.

So, if you are thinking about commercial architecture for 2025, from retail to offices or any other spaces, work with us.