Physical space is back in vogue, it seems. Just look at the latest investments in bricks and mortar by digital-first brands such as Amazon, Wayfair and even Netflix. In the shift we’re now seeing, however, lies important lessons for all brands – upstart and legacy, old and new.

Talk of the resurgence of interest in physical brand impact, especially in retail, and that old line ‘what goes around comes around’ might spring to mind. But there’s way more to this than a cyclical fad if you dig deeper into what’s happened over the past ten years.

In the run up to 2020, we saw the steady rise of digital. Next, thanks to Covid-19, this pace of change rapidly accelerated. Then, the cost-of-living and supply chain concerns ramped this up ever further. And the result? An over-indexing on digital led to an obsessive pursuit of the holy grail of utilitarian function by many brand owners at the cost of human experience. And this has led to the course correction needed by so many brands today.