Reconsidering the Role of the Retail Store: Are Shoppers Tired of ‘Feeling Predicted’?

According to the most recent report by JLL — titled “Resetting the Retail (Algo)Rhythm” — American shoppers are growing fatigued of excessive AI navigation and involvement in the shopping process, as well as an overload of screens, noise, and other sensory features. Where’s the middle ground as AI tools, digital marketing, and experiential demands butt up against a fatigued U.S. consumer?

The report’s author’s opened with bold text proclaiming that the role of brick-and-mortar retail is more vital than ever, before moving on to the broader premise:

“As customers tire of curated digital feeds and constant screen time, stores can offer something different: tactile discovery, sensory relief and human connection. While AI-powered curation makes infinite product ranges easier to navigate, customers are now pushing back against feeling predicted,” the authors began.”

“This gives retailers an opportunity to reconsider the role of the store. Digital channels are becoming better at delivering speed and convenience, while physical spaces can meet the needs that digital experiences do not fully address,” they added.

Among the top-line findings of the survey data:

• Discovery remains important: An overwhelming majority (83%) of those polled said they relish finding items at a physical retail store they wouldn’t have looked for online.
• Overload is happening across a broad spectrum: Nearly three-quarters (72%) of U.S. shoppers indicated they’d departed from a store before planning to “because it felt overwhelming.” That figure rises to 82% of those who self-identify as neurodivergent, and a similar cohort of all shoppers (71%) stated they’d shop more frequently at stores with a quieter, lower-stimulation atmosphere.
• Online recommendations may be feeling like impositions: Almost half (45%) of respondents suggested that online recommendations impart of feeling of “narrowing what they [consumers] are allowed to like.”
• Brick-and-mortar retail employees are signaling tech / clutter overload as well: Four-fifths of retail employees surveyed (80%) observed that shoppers appeared more calm in spaces with less clutter, and a majority (53%) want fewer screens at work. More than one-third (38%) indicated they feel pressure to employ technology in their workflow, “even when it slows them down.”

The study authors asked several broader questions obliquely critiquing certain aspects both of mass retail and experiential retail throughout the paper, including

“What if retailers created layouts that rewarded wandering, not efficiency?,” advocating for a balance of composition, complexity, sight/touch/taste, and localization to enhance a feeling of “serendipitous discovery” versus clutter, sameness, and overall feelings of anxiety, being boxed in, etc.

“What if retailers designed for how customers want to feel, not just what they want to buy?,” emphasizing a return to the fundamental appeals of attractive color / contrast, touch, sound, and scent as design principles that can work, as “The fixes customers want are not new features. They are the absence of noise, clutter and screens.”

and, “What if the most powerful content driver isn’t the influencer, but the store itself?,” taking on (and rejecting) the new-ish concept of retail spaces as shareable “social media backdrops.” Instead, it’s argued, deploy digital only when it is an enhancement rather than an encumbrance, and install tasteful amenities to inspire shoppers to linger, participate, and connect. Service is also a cornerstone in this category, with human interaction being central to the brand and the store experience, with the space itself being curated to guide customers through a comfortable, culturally relevant floor.

“The question is not whether stores remain important but how they can create distinctive value alongside increasingly sophisticated digital channels,” the authors noted, underscoring that e-comm retail accounted for just 16.9% of total sales in the first quarter of this year. The study highlighted Audible Storyhouse, Claire’s, Dick’s Collectors Clubhouse, and La La Land cafe’s as particular standouts in pushing forward this balanced new take on the shopper-first concept.