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 featuring Tesco self checkout

Meijer – Grand Rapids, MI

Everyone can choose their own checkout adventure at the Meijer superstore. Shoppers can choose between the traditional checkout lanes, a self-checkout area open to everyone no matter how many items, and a “faster checkout” for 5 or fewer items.

WSL Top Innovator featuring D&W Fresh Market grab-and-go section

D&W Fresh Market – Grand Rapids, MI

Walking to the back of the store for milk and eggs is no longer necessary at D&W Fresh Market. The “faster for you” cooler sits adjacent to the check-out lines and offers weekly staples and quick refreshments, perfect for the shoppers just popping in for those items.

WSL Top Innovator featuring Oh Hello Co lockers

Oh, Hello Co. – Grand Rapids, MI

Oh, Hello Co., a locally owned gift store, offers a creative take on a monthly club. Shoppers purchase a lifetime locker key for $30 and then are allowed to shop the locker once a month, forever. The freebies include stickers, greeting cards, keychains, and more!

WSL Top Innovator featuring CVS app capabilities to unlock product cases

CVS – New York, NY

A few CVS locations have had an update to their locked-display cases. Using the CVS app while logged into their ExtraCare account, shoppers can now unlock security cases with their phones. Customers hold their phones to a sensor pad, and the app confirms the case is unlocked.

WSL Top Innovator featuring Factor Meal advertisement on Instagram stories

Factor Meals – Online

The fresh, never-frozen, pre-made meal delivery service has expanded its menu offerings to include GLP-1 Balance. This plan focuses on a protein-forward, calorie-friendly collection of meals to provide an easy solution to balancing nutrients for GLP-1 customers.

Lands’ End Pop-Up – New York, NY

Lands’ End hosted a unique pop-up that allowed visitors to customize a tote bag with the assistance of local businesses, such as Chain Smoke for embroidery and P.S. Calligraphy for painting. Customers could also choose patches, pins, and bespoke bag charms.

WSL Top Innovator featuring Ralph Lauran animated teddy bear window display

Ralph Lauren – New York, NY

Ralph Lauren’s New York window displays featured an interactive Polo Bear celebrating the season with products visible in the background. Using AI, the bear can interact with people passing the store, including waving, dancing, blowing kisses, and taking selfies.

WSL Top Innovator featuring Benefit's virtual 3D shopping experience, Benemart

Benemart – Online

Joining the virtual shopping trend, Benefits Cosmetics has partnered with Obsess to debut its first virtual 3D shopping experience dubbed “The Benemart.” Inspired by grocery stores, shoppers can wander the store, create their own avatars, play games, try on favorite products, win discounts, and more.

Meta’s Ray-Ban Pop-Up – Los Angeles, CA

Continuing to introduce shoppers to digital eyewear, Meta opened the Meta Lab, where attendees can try out the Ray-Ban Meta eyewear’s smart AI assistant, customize their glasses cases, and attend gatherings with guests like podcaster Madeline Argy.

WSL Top Innovator featuring Sainsbury's mince pie window

Sainsbury’s Mince Pie Window – London, UK

Sainsbury hosted mince pie windows in various cities across the UK, where visitors could get free mince pies and spiced tea. Customers were invited to ring a bell to receive their treat and donate 1 pound, with funds going to Comic Relief.

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.