Our innovative research captures the complete shopper experience, from what drives their choices to what inspires them in-store & online

What ensures your retail strategy stands apart goes beyond data. WSL Insights continuously bring you retail innovation trends from around the world to inspire new thinking and growth. We help you predict where your shoppers are headed and build solutions to meet them there.

WSL‘s Top Innovations

Take a world tour of the retail innovations that inspire new thinking. Here’s WSL’s Hot List of the best innovations our Retail Safari^® global scouts have recently uncovered.

WSL Top Innovator thumbnail featuring Tesco's Diwali food display

Tesco – London, UK

Celebrating Diwali just got easier thanks to Tesco, offering affordable paper goods, gift bags, tealights, and decorations at affordable prices. Popular Diwali ingredients are curated on endcaps throughout the store.

WSL Top Innovator thumbnail featuring Target's inclusive Halloween signage addressing Autism and allergy-free treats

Target – New York, NY

Throughout Target’s Halloween shop, signage reminds shoppers that the holiday can be fun & inclusive for all, spreading awareness that teal pumpkins symbolize allergy-free treats and blue buckets promote awareness for trick-or-treaters with Autism.

WSL Top Innovator thumbnail featuring Sam's Club holiday gift cards with transparent costs and fees

Sam’s Club – Metairie, LA

Gift cards have become a staple for holiday gifts, Sam’s Club has included boxes, cards, and envelopes to complete the gift, they are also offering transparent pricing by listing the cost, including the fees.

WSL Top Innovator thumbnail featuring Macy's beauty gift guides and sets

Macy’s – New York, NY

Macy’s gift guides are back, featuring shopper favorites for skincare, cosmetics, fragrances, and haircare too. The curated collections are displayed throughout the store, including mini collections and holiday kits from all the beauty greats.

WSL Top Innovator thumbnail featuring Marks & Spencer's advent calendars for the holidays

Marks & Spencer – London, UK

In need of an advent calendar? No worries—Marks & Spencer has a fantastic selection of calendars filled with delicious treats and sweets, perfect for everyone in the family to enjoy this holiday season.

WSL Top Innovator thumbnail featuring Old Navy's Giftober advertising on Instagram

Old Navy – Online

Old Navy treated shoppers to a huge sale, Giftober, which offered 50% off everything - giving customers the perfect opportunity to get a head start on holiday shopping and spread-out spending while saving money on gifts for friends and family.

WSL Top Innovator thumbnail featuring Bath & Body Works' 25th anniversary of the classic Winter Candy Apple scent products

Bath & Body Works – Paramus, NJ

Get your home smelling like the holidays with Bath & Body Works. The display celebrates the 25^th anniversary of the classic Winter Candy Apple smell in all formats, from body spray to hand soap – candles on sale and even apple red candle podiums!

WSL Top Innovator thumbnail featuring Five Below's Dia De Los Muertos display

Five Below – New York, NY

Five Below released an entire collection of budget-friendly decorations to help bring the vibrant spirit of Día de los Muertos to life. Among the standout items are sets of flameless candles, perfect for decorating Ofrendas.

WSL Top Innovator thumbnail featuring Mattel's Diwali Barbie

Barbie – Online

Mattel created a Diwali Barbie, which launched before the holiday. The doll featured traditional earrings called jhumkas, gold dangles, a bindi, and a fashionable lehenga skirt & cropped blouse featuring a floral design from Rajasthan, a northern Indian state.

Retail Safari® What it is, How it works.

What is a Retail Safari^®? We bring you retail innovation and inspiration from around the world, every day.

Retail Safari^® is WSL’s proprietary process (yes, it‘s trademarked) that immerses your organization in places you may not think to look for innovation. You will find inspiration from around the world for strategies and programs that will set you apart and help you grow.

It’s a one-stop resource grounded in our proprietary shopper and retail insights, supported with innovation processes and toolkits that an exciting culture of creative thinking that boldly drives your growth. All powered by WSL’s retail research insights and tailored to your goals.

Custom Quote

We customize our Retail Safari® to your needs.

We curate the best-in-class global retail concepts (physical and digital) based on emerging trends we identify in our shopper research that predict the future of your retail. Our scouts around the world continuously assess what’s new and why it’s relevant. We can customize themes to your specific needs and we deliver all this to you any way you want it. To fit your budget.

Virtual Retail Safari®

We inspire you and your teams with regular curated deliveries to your inbox of what’s next at retail. No need to leave your desk. Or we can bring the Retail Safari® to you in a virtual session where you have opportunities to ask questions, discuss and build ideas, conveniently.

Retail Safari® In a Box

Call it the DIY Safari. We develop everything for you and package it up so you can conduct your own in-market Retail Safari® but with all our guidance and inspiration behind the scenes.

Retail Safari® Photo Library

We catalog all our tours by trend, topic, and category, so you have ongoing access to imagery. Ideal for teams to use for program inspiration, joint business planning, and thought leadership meetings with customers, for internal strategy sessions or corporate training. Housed in our WSL library, it’s easily accessible and customizable.

Retail Safari® Live

We create a live, in-person event, in a market, customized to your specific issues or topics. Our experts collaborate with you to identify the subject, identify and scout the market, build out the tour, and unique tools to inspire before, during, and after the event. Plus, a framework and action steps that deliver bold, differentiated shopper and retail solutions.

`Our proprietary Retail Safari^® empowers you to anticipate the future of retail` through emerging, relevant retail concepts from around the world.

Our Retail Safari® brings amazing retail concepts to you, in easy-to-follow visual reports, video streams, in-person events, and more. From New York to London, from China to California, our scouts continuously search out the latest retail innovations often in most surprising forms – so you’re prepared for what’s next.

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Get our latest thinking on what’s next with shoppers and retail.

The Retail Safari® is a much smarter way to tour stores. We go to stores that make us think outside our walls and using the Retail Safari® guide map taught my team how to look at the elements of a store that impact shoppers. It’s a productive tool to find new ideas we can take to retailers to impact our brands in their stores.

VP Sales // Health Care Company

You used innovative tools to help us create really smart ideas to drive the Bath & Body Works business. The Retail Safari® was efficient, productive and won the respect of our team and senior management.

VP Consumer Insights // Bath & Body Works

Thank you for your leadership during our Retail Safari® last week! You did a fantastic job setting our path and keeping us focused and on track. The debrief at the end is the most important part and while we were all spent at the end of the day, you were able to get a strong list of action items out of us! We were all impressed that you were able to get us to 9 stores in one day and it didn’t feel overwhelming. Great job!

Director, Category Management // Keurig Dr. Pepper

I love your virtual safaris. It’s a way to get in touch with retail innovation in a time-effective way. I learn something new or I’m prompted to think about an initiative in a new way every time I am with you all-thank you!! Great presentation – was very value-added.

Retail Safari® Virtual Event // Attendee

Target is well-known for terrific marketing, but we also know the power of smart ideas from external sources, and that is when we call WSL Strategic Retail.