Fewer, better and more focused might be the watchwords for retail interiors in 2012 and as the year passes the halfway mark, it’s a tendency that might be becoming more, rather than less, evident.

Fewer, better and more focused might be the watchwords for retail interiors in 2012 and as the year passes the halfway mark, it’s a tendency that might be becoming more, rather than less, evident. Most retailers have reached the conclusion, and probably correctly, that we have enough stores on our high streets and equally, that there are sufficient retail options for shoppers.

And one of the outcomes of this is that there really aren’t that many trends out there. One of the questions that is always asked is what are the major tendencies in retail design and visual merchandising? This is usually asked as a form of sense check… are we doing the right thing in our stores? Reassuringly, but perhaps also disturbingly, there is no need for this kind of check-up at the moment, as retailers seem finally to be doing their own thing.

This does not mean they have ceased paying attention to the efforts of others. Rather, having done so, they then create interiors true to their brands, without necessarily referencing what’s being done elsewhere. Put simply, this means there are no trends in window displays – there are good windows and there are bad ones. This actually puts greater demands on creative teams than at any point in the past five years. Things have to look right.

And interestingly, retailers are opting to spend more money on their existing interiors as they strive to maintain sales in the face of some pretty adverse trading headwinds. A contradictory set of impulses therefore. More refits are being carried out, for less money and with greater creativity. Good news for shoppers, but not for the bottom lines of cash-strapped shopkeepers.

All of which means Retail Week Interiors features several diverse projects, ranging from a shopping centre without an anchor store in Stockholm to Tesco’s latest standalone F&F store in the Czech Republic. There is also a report on the forthcoming Olympics, digital signage and the new Esprit store on London’s Regent Street.

Times may be tough, but it would appear there is greater diversity than ever.

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