This report examines Canadian retail real estate, leasing, shopping centres, mixed-use developments, landlords, tenants, mall operators, redevelopment activity and broader commercial retail property trends. Drawing on Retail Insider reporting, REIT disclosures and industry research, it explores how constrained supply, redevelopment priorities and evolving tenant demand are reshaping the country’s retail property market.
General Themes
Scarcity Drives Leasing Power — Limited availability of productive retail space continues to strengthen occupancy, leasing spreads and pricing at Canada’s leading retail properties.
Prime Assets Pull Further Ahead — Performance differences between top-tier shopping centres and secondary assets continue to widen as retailers concentrate investment in their strongest locations.
Curation Becomes a Strategic Advantage — Leading landlords are building integrated retail districts that combine shopping, food, entertainment, hospitality, residential uses and public spaces.
Hudson’s Bay Creates a Market Reset — Former department store space is creating redevelopment opportunities while challenging landlords to reposition large-format retail boxes.
Open-Air Centres Continue to Outperform — Grocery-anchored and necessity-based retail formats remain among the most resilient asset classes for both tenants and investors.
Mixed-Use Remains the Long-Term Direction — Despite project delays caused by financing and construction costs, integrated mixed-use developments continue to shape future retail planning.
Capital Matters More Than Ever — Well-capitalized landlords are better positioned to acquire assets, fund redevelopment and respond to changing leasing opportunities.
Retail Insider Coverage
The report draws extensively from Retail Insider’s coverage of Canada’s retail property sector during the quarter, connecting individual stories into a broader view of market direction. Coverage includes shopping centre productivity rankings, the continuing strength of Yorkdale Shopping Centre, leasing trends across major Canadian markets, Oakridge Park’s development progress, and the growing importance of curated retail districts such as Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville.
Retail Insider also examined the retail real estate implications of Hudson’s Bay’s closure, the repositioning of former department store space, redevelopment activity at enclosed malls, institutional investment by major REITs including RioCan, SmartCentres and Choice Properties, as well as acquisitions by private investors. Together, these stories reveal how landlords are responding to changing tenant demand while repositioning assets for long-term performance.
Broader Industry Coverage
The report suggests Canadian retail real estate has moved beyond a broad post-pandemic recovery into a far more selective market. Retailers continue to expand physical footprints, but increasingly compete for a relatively small number of highly productive locations where demographics, accessibility and tenant mix support stronger long-term performance.
At the same time, redevelopment strategies are evolving. Rather than relying solely on large mixed-use projects, many landlords are pursuing incremental value creation by subdividing former anchor spaces, strengthening necessity-based retail offerings and building destinations that combine retail with food, services, entertainment and community programming. These approaches are becoming increasingly important as construction costs, financing conditions and municipal approvals extend redevelopment timelines.
Editor’s Take
The report concludes that scarcity has become the defining characteristic of Canada’s retail real estate market. Strong locations continue to attract retailers, investors and international brands, while weaker assets face growing pressure to reposition themselves through redevelopment, improved merchandising and more thoughtful curation. Success is increasingly determined by location quality, capital flexibility and the ability to create destinations that serve both commercial objectives and evolving consumer expectations, rather than simply maximizing leasable space.
There is a particular shade of blue that seems to return with every Mediterranean summer. It appears in the sea beneath a clear afternoon sky, across hand-painted ceramics, against whitewashed façades, and in weathered shutters overlooking quiet harbours. It is a colour shaped by sunlight, water, and architecture, one that has become inseparable from the enduring beauty of the Mediterranean coastline.
Known as Blu Mediterraneo, Dolce & Gabbana‘s signature decorative motif draws inspiration from the landscapes, architecture, craftsmanship, and lifestyle of the Mediterranean. Defined by its distinctive blue-and-white palette, the collection evokes places such as the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Saint-Tropez, and the Greek islands through imagery and craftsmanship that celebrate coastal living.
At Royalmount, Maison Territo embraces this timeless aesthetic through curated furniture and interior collections that celebrate craftsmanship, texture, and refined living. The 11,000-square-foot showroom presents internationally recognized brands including Fendi Casa, Versace Home, Dolce & Gabbana Casa, and Bentley Home, creating immersive environments where global design influences come to life.
Dolce & Gabbana Blu Mediterraneo
A Design Language That Endures
Blu Mediterraneo is expressed through azure ceramics, limestone, linen textiles, woven natural fibres, light woods, and handcrafted details that reflect generations of Mediterranean artisans. Together, these materials create interiors that feel calm, welcoming, and deeply connected to their surroundings.
Its enduring appeal lies in its ability to balance sophistication with simplicity. While design trends evolve from season to season, Blu Mediterraneo continues to influence luxury interiors through an aesthetic that feels both timeless and unmistakably Mediterranean.
Craftsmanship at the Centre
Authentic materials and skilled craftsmanship remain central to the Blu Mediterraneo philosophy. Hand-finished ceramics, natural stone, carefully woven textiles, and thoughtfully crafted furnishings create spaces with warmth, texture, and character.
This appreciation for craftsmanship aligns closely with Maison Territo’s approach to interior design. Throughout the showroom, carefully curated collections demonstrate how exceptional materials and thoughtful design can create interiors that are elegant, personal, and enduring.
Madonna’s 2026 short film Confessions II – The Film, produced in partnership with Dolce & Gabbana, luminous fabrics, expressive shades of blue, and the interplay of light and reflection.
Beyond the World of Interiors
The influence of Blu Mediterraneo extends beyond architecture and interior design into fashion and contemporary culture. In Madonna’s 2026 short film Confessions II – The Film, produced in partnership with Dolce & Gabbana, luminous fabrics, expressive shades of blue, and the interplay of light and reflection evoke many of the same sensory qualities associated with Mediterranean summers.
While distinct from the Blu Mediterraneo concept itself, these visual elements demonstrate how this timeless palette continues to inspire creative expression across multiple disciplines.
Experience Blu Mediterraneo at Maison Territo
For architects, interior designers, and private clients alike, Blu Mediterraneo offers an enduring source of inspiration where colour, craftsmanship, and natural materials come together in harmonious interiors.
Maison Territo invites visitors to experience this Mediterranean design language firsthand through its curated collections and immersive showroom environments, where timeless design traditions continue to inspire contemporary living.
Maxi supermarket chain, Montreal, Quebec. Image: Hkeely at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AA_Maxi_supermarket_chain_grocery_store_in_Montreal%2C_Quebec%2C_Canada_01.jpg
Maxi will open a grocery store of more than 13,000 square feet inside Montreal’s former Forum, extending Loblaw Companies Limited’s push to bring smaller discount stores into dense urban neighbourhoods.
Construction and fit-out work are underway at the Sainte-Catherine Street West and Atwater Avenue property. The multi-million-dollar store is scheduled to open by the end of 2027, according to Loblaw.
Patrick Blanchette
The location will carry fresh food, grocery products, prepared meals, multicultural foods and natural and organic items. Loblaw said the assortment will include more than 6,000 products from Quebec. Customers will also have access to Maxi’s price-matching program and PC Optimum.
Patrick Blanchette, senior vice-president of Maxi, said the store is intended to serve residents, families, students and people working in the surrounding district.
The opening will place a practical, recurring-use retailer inside one of Montreal’s best-known buildings. It also offers another example of Loblaw adapting the Maxi format to urban real estate that cannot accommodate a conventional suburban supermarket.
Maxi builds a smaller urban format
At slightly more than 13,000 square feet, the Forum store will be considerably smaller than many full-size supermarkets. Its size is consistent with several recent Maxi openings in central Montreal.
A Maxi that opened on Plaza Saint-Hubert in June occupies 8,000 square feet and created approximately 40 jobs. Another location in Montreal’s Village occupies just over 18,000 square feet. Loblaw also identifies its René-Lévesque Boulevard store as part of the same urban expansion strategy.
The stores show that Maxi can operate across a wide range of urban footprints. Smaller formats give Loblaw access to neighbourhoods where available grocery space is fragmented, rents can be higher and loading or parking conditions differ from suburban sites.
The approach has become a material part of Loblaw’s expansion program. The company opened 48 Maxi and No Frills stores in 2025, including 39 small-format locations. Loblaw has described those stores as a way to bring hard discount into urban pockets as well as suburban communities.
That expansion continues in 2026. Loblaw plans to invest $2.4 billion in its stores, supply chain and related infrastructure during the year. Its plan includes 31 new Maxi and No Frills stores among 70 new food, pharmacy and health-care locations.
The company reported in May that its discount banners continued to outperform during the first quarter. Loblaw opened five hard-discount stores in the period, while increased customer traffic and new locations contributed to revenue growth.
The Forum announcement therefore fits into a wider allocation of capital toward value-oriented food retail. The location gives Loblaw another point of access to consumers in central Montreal without requiring a large standalone building or suburban shopping-centre site.
Grocery adds recurring traffic to the Forum
Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation lists the former Forum in its portfolio as Forum Towers, a six-level mixed-use property covering an entire city block. The company puts the complex at 1.2 million square feet and identifies tenants including Cineplex, Econofitness, the Comedy Nest and Dawson College.
For the property, Maxi can generate a different traffic pattern from its entertainment and institutional uses. Grocery shopping creates frequent neighbourhood visits and can support activity across mornings, evenings and weekends.
That regular traffic could benefit food-service and service tenants while making the Forum more useful to people living and working nearby. It also gives the complex a tenant whose performance is tied to the surrounding residential trade area, not solely to destination entertainment.
The store’s precise position inside the building has not been disclosed. Loblaw has also not provided details about its entrance, loading arrangements, parking, online-order services, employment numbers or lease terms.
Those details will determine how effectively the location operates as an urban grocery store. Visibility from Sainte-Catherine or Atwater, convenient pedestrian access and efficient deliveries will be particularly important in a compact format.
Montreal Forum, Image: Jeangagnon at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AForum_Pepsi_10.JPG
Established competition near Atwater
Maxi will enter a well-served grocery district.
Marché Adonis operates at 2173 Sainte-Catherine Street West, along the same corridor. The downtown Adonis opened in 2013 with 15,000 square feet of selling space, making it comparable in size to the future Maxi. The store represented a $6.5-million investment when it opened.
IGA also operates at street level inside the neighbouring Alexis Nihon shopping centre at 1500 Atwater Avenue. The store offers online grocery ordering and is positioned within the Atwater transit and retail complex. Metro’s Super C discount banner has another store at 147 Atwater Avenue, south of the Forum.
The competitive challenge will go beyond price. Adonis has an established position in multicultural foods and prepared meals, two categories Loblaw specifically identified for the Forum store. IGA benefits from its location within Alexis Nihon, while Super C already competes for discount-oriented customers in the Atwater trade area.
Maxi will bring Loblaw’s private-label assortment, PC Optimum membership base and price-matching proposition into that mix. Its compact footprint suggests a curated assortment designed for frequent urban shopping, with less room for the breadth found in a conventional suburban location.
A new chapter for a historic property
Built in 1924, the Montreal Forum served as the home of the Montreal Canadiens until 1996. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1997 because of its place in Canadian hockey and its history as a venue for major sporting, cultural, political and religious events. The building was converted to other uses after the Canadiens left.
The heritage connection gives the opening a recognizable address, but the commercial importance lies in Maxi’s role within the property today.
For Loblaw, the store advances a model that allows discount grocery to enter constrained urban sites. For the Forum, it introduces an anchor based on daily needs and repeat visits.
The long construction schedule leaves several questions unanswered, including why the store will not open until late 2027 and whether building conditions, approvals or the complexity of the fit-out are factors. More information about the unit and its access will offer a clearer picture of how grocery will be integrated into the former arena.
What is already evident is that Maxi is becoming less dependent on a standard store box. The Forum location will test how far Loblaw can compress its hard-discount model while competing in one of central Montreal’s more established grocery clusters.
A child selling bracelets, lawn care or baked goods can promote the business online. Accepting a card payment is harder.
Dean Horsfield, Founder of Lemonade Lab
Most mainstream commerce accounts must be controlled by adults, even when the product or service belongs to a young entrepreneur. B.C.-built Lemonade Lab is targeting that gap with a platform that lets children create shops, accept digital payments and learn basic business skills under parental supervision.
The mobile app uses near-field communication technology to accept contactless cards and digital wallets without a separate payment reader. Users can also build branded shop pages, list products and services, manage bookings, issue digital receipts and monitor their earnings.
Lemonade Lab founder Dean Horsfield told Retail Insider in an online interview that the idea came from repeatedly passing a neighbourhood lemonade stand and noticing how many potential customers lacked the cash needed to make a small purchase.
“I want my daughters to understand digital payments,” Horsfield said. “I want them to understand reinvesting. I want them to understand the digital flow of money.”
The lemonade stand provided the name, but it represents only one type of business on the platform. Horsfield said young users have created shops for jewellery, sculptures, lawn care, pet services, digital products and horse massage.
Some children operate several businesses throughout the year. A user could offer lawn care in summer and snow shovelling in winter, with separate storefronts feeding into one record of earnings.
A gap in retail payment infrastructure
Lemonade Lab is entering a Canadian market where contactless payment is routine, even though cash remains widely used.
Canadians paid with cash for 21 percent of purchases in 2024, according to the Bank of Canada. Cash usage has remained relatively stable since 2020. Almost two-thirds of in-person payments, however, were contactless, and mobile payments accounted for almost five per cent of purchases.
For a neighbourhood seller, the issue is practical. A customer may be willing to spend a few dollars on a drink or bracelet but still expect to pay with a card or phone.
The technology needed to accept that payment is increasingly accessible. Apple launched Tap to Pay on iPhone in Canada in May 2024, allowing merchants to accept contactless debit cards, credit cards and digital wallets through supported apps without buying a separate terminal. Stripe, Square, Moneris and Adyen were among the first Canadian payment platforms to support the service.
Lemonade Lab applies that capability to a child-facing commerce platform. Its distinction is the structure around the payment, including shop-building tools, learning activities, parental approval and moderated customer communication.
Mainstream commerce services can support a young person’s business, but an adult usually has to own the account and assume legal responsibility. Shopify requires its account holder to be at least 18 or the age of majority where the service is used. Shopify Payments also requires a parent or guardian to establish an account for a seller who is under 18.
Horsfield said Lemonade Lab was designed so children could take the lead in creating and operating a shop without being expected to manage the legal and financial obligations attached to payment processing.
How payments and withdrawals work
Lemonade Lab acts as the merchant of record for payments processed through the platform, according to follow-up information supplied by Horsfield. Stripe is the payment processor.
The parent or guardian remains the responsible adult and legal seller behind the child’s shop. The adult is also financially responsible for the products or services being sold, along with refunds and customer disputes.
When a customer completes a payment, the child’s net earnings appear in a Lemonade Lab Bank balance. The child can request a withdrawal, but a verified parent or guardian must approve it and receive the money.
Entering an adult’s email address does not activate that approval. The adult must independently verify the email, create a parent account and provide consent. Identity and bank-account verification are required before funds can be withdrawn.
Refunds, chargebacks and related dispute costs can be deducted from the shop’s balance. Withdrawals may be held while Lemonade Lab and Stripe review a dispute, identity issue or potential fraud concern.
The model gives young sellers visibility into their business activity while leaving control of the money with an adult.
Lemonade Lab Graphic, Image: lemonadelab.ai
The economics of small sales
Payment costs can be difficult for businesses selling low-priced products. A fixed fee on every transaction can consume a large share of a two-dollar or four-dollar purchase.
Lemonade Lab does not charge a shop-running fee on the first $100 in sales each month. Sales above that threshold carry a 3.5 per cent charge, which Horsfield said includes card-processing costs.
The company’s public pricing page also states that the first $100 earned each month has no transaction fee and that a 3.5 per cent shop-running charge applies after that point.
A shop generating $150 in monthly sales would pay $1.75 on the final $50, leaving a balance of $148.25.
The withdrawal model creates an additional cost for families using a free account. Free accounts pay a 10 per cent withdrawal processing fee, according to Horsfield. A withdrawal of the remaining $148.25 would therefore produce a payout of approximately $133.43.
Paid plans do not carry the withdrawal fee.
That difference is important for small sellers. The transaction charge above the monthly threshold is limited, but the withdrawal fee changes the effective cost of using the free plan.
Lemonade Lab says children can continue using the platform without paying a subscription. Optional memberships remove cash-out processing charges and add business, learning and reporting tools.
Business education built around activity
Lemonade Lab is positioning itself as an educational platform as well as a commerce tool.
Children earn points, digital coins and status by completing activities in several areas. Revenue is one measure, but users can also progress by creating marketing material, updating their shops, completing lessons, supporting other users and working as part of a team.
Horsfield said the company did not want sales to be the only sign of achievement. Children who start a business may not make money immediately, and an early lack of sales can discourage them from continuing.
“You don’t have to be that top earner to be a top achiever,” he said. “You just have to stick it through.”
The platform includes short games and exercises related to entrepreneurship and financial management. One lesson teaches users how to distinguish a product feature from a customer benefit. Older participants can complete text-based lessons, multiple-choice questions and other activities.
Horsfield said the status system has become an important engagement tool. Children frequently contact support when they believe a digital coin or level has not been awarded correctly.
Lemonade Lab is also developing a team mode that allows several users to operate a business together. A lead user can assign roles such as product manager or marketer, giving participants experience with shared responsibilities.
Lemonade Lab Infographic, Image: lemonadelab.ai
Early shops and classroom adoption
Lemonade Lab opened its full platform to the public on March 15, 2026, following a beta program that began with 10 users in December 2025. Its educator module launched earlier in March, according to the company’s published timeline.
As of July 10, 2026, Lemonade Lab had 210 children registered, 117 shops created, 27 educator registrations and 25 classrooms created, according to figures supplied by Horsfield.
Those numbers clarify earlier growth claims. Horsfield said a previous reference to more than 300 accounts included children, parents and educators. It did not represent 300 active child sellers.
He also said the company’s reference to monthly doubling concerned the pace of new shop creation, not revenue or cumulative user growth.
Lemonade Lab is not yet publishing a verified conversion rate showing how many registered users have completed a first sale. Horsfield said commerce is live but remains at an early stage, making shop creation a more reliable validated measure than transaction conversion.
That distinction matters. The platform supports real commerce, but a portion of its current use is centred on experimentation, education and creating a business before generating sales.
The education product includes classroom dashboards, assignments, challenges, leaderboards and student storefronts. Lemonade Lab says the tools are free for schools and after-school programs.
The company is not naming individual schools or youth organizations without permission. It is also not describing every classroom created on the platform as an active class or cohort.
LL Safe Graphic, Image: lemonadelab.ai
Safety controls and parental visibility
Allowing children to publish storefronts and interact with customers raises concerns that do not apply to a conventional adult merchant account.
Children aged 13 and younger can begin in a private environment where they create a business without immediately publishing it. Parental participation is required before younger users can access public, financial or customer-facing functions, Horsfield said.
Parents receive a separate dashboard where they can review activity, monitor communications and adjust settings. Conversations between a child and Lemonade Lab’s support team are also visible to the parent.
Customers cannot see a child’s home address, private location, personal phone number, email address or private schedule, according to Horsfield. Users offering services can publish selected availability without exposing their complete schedule.
Customer communication is routed through structured forms, not unrestricted direct messaging.
The company’s LL Safe system screens communications for grooming, scams, manipulation, inappropriate requests and attempts to move a conversation outside the platform. Messages identified as unsafe can be blocked before reaching the child, while repeated concerns can result in a customer losing access to student sellers, according to Lemonade Lab’s safety materials.
LL Safe is currently an internally developed moderation system. Horsfield said it has not undergone a formal independent privacy, cybersecurity or child-safety assessment.
Lemonade Lab’s terms also acknowledge that the platform cannot guarantee every harmful or inappropriate activity will be identified or prevented.
The system should therefore be viewed as a layer of monitoring and parental visibility, not a guarantee against harmful interaction.
Building a longer relationship with young founders
Lemonade Lab’s longer-term strategy extends beyond a child’s first sale.
Horsfield said the company is developing a more advanced product under the working name LL Studio. The planned product would let users move into more sophisticated tools as they become older, reach higher platform levels or generate greater revenue.
The company is also considering an archival option that would preserve a user’s early storefronts, branding and business records after the person stops actively using the platform.
Horsfield said he wishes he still had copies of the flyers and websites he created during his own early business ventures. Preserving that material could give users a record of their first commercial work and, in some cases, a verifiable account of what they built.
There is also a customer-retention opportunity. A young person might begin with lawn care, jewellery or pet services and later need tools for a larger operation.
Lemonade Lab is trying to establish that relationship at the earliest stage, when the first shop, product and customer payment are still being created.
For the Canadian retail and payments industries, the platform offers an early example of commerce technology being adapted for sellers who have generally remained outside conventional merchant systems.
Its next challenge is turning shop creation into sustained sales while maintaining the parental oversight, privacy controls and customer safeguards required when the merchants are children.
Nearly two decades after Brian Misko began bottling flavours developed on the competition barbecue circuit, one of his best-known sauces is again earning recognition south of the border.
House of Q, the Vernon, B.C.-based company founded by Misko and his wife, took second place in the Mustard Sauce category at the 2026 International Flavor Awards in Wisconsin for its Slow Smoke Gold BBQ Sauce. According to the company, the competition drew more than 320 entries from 12 countries.
The award marks another milestone in a much longer business story. Misko says House of Q products are now carried in more than 600 stores across Canada and over 150 in the United States, with much of that footprint built outside conventional grocery.
For years, the company concentrated on independent butcher shops, gourmet stores and a growing network of specialty BBQ retailers. That route to market emerged from the same competition culture that produced the sauces themselves.
“Our mission in creating products is plain and simple: to win awards at BBQ Pitmaster competitions,” Misko told Retail Insider. “If it was a regional event or a world championship, we need to perform at the highest level of our ability.”
From Software to the Competition Circuit
House of Q traces its beginnings to Misko’s earlier career in software. Regular travel to American cities exposed him to slow-smoked barbecue and eventually led him into competition cooking.
What began as a hobby became increasingly serious. Misko started developing sauces and spice blends for contests at a time when the commercial BBQ selection available to Canadian pitmasters was much smaller than it is today.
The first sign of a business opportunity came directly from consumers. At competitions, people who sampled the food began asking whether they could buy the sauces.
Brian Misko
“Do you have any of that sauce that was on that pulled pork sample you gave me?” Misko recalled.
The question pointed to a market. People wanted access to the same flavours being prepared for competition.
Misko and his wife placed their first order with a co-packer in the spring of 2007, and retailer interest followed.
“That was the beginning of House of Q,” he said.
The business remained closely tied to competition BBQ as Misko’s profile expanded. His record would eventually include a sixth-place pork finish at the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue and first place in ribs at the World Food Championships.
A major turning point came in 2010, when he was invited to participate as a guest chef at the B.C. Pavilion during the Vancouver Winter Olympics, showcasing British Columbia agricultural products for international media. He left the software industry shortly afterward.
As Misko remembers the decision, the experience prompted a straightforward thought: “Maybe you should put some energy on this BBQ thing.”
His public profile continued to grow through television, trade shows, cooking demonstrations, a national bestselling cookbook and more than 75 BBQ segments on Global TV’s B.C. Morning News. He has also appeared on Food Network Canada programs including Fire Masters.
The retail business, however, was shaped by a decision that proved especially important: where House of Q products should be sold.
Building Through Specialty Retail
Many emerging food brands look first to supermarkets. House of Q followed another path.
Misko said the earliest retailer inquiries came from independent butcher shops and gourmet stores. Those channels became central to the company’s go-to-market strategy.
“There is an instant polarity for food creators to go to grocery stores when you bring a product to market,” he said. “The first phone calls we received from retailers asking for our sauces and spices, however, were from butcher shops and gourmet stores. It wasn’t grocers.”
House of Q focused on merchants Misko describes as having a “value-added relationship with their customers.”
For a BBQ brand, the fit was practical. Independent butchers could recommend sauces and seasonings alongside meat purchases, while gourmet retailers could introduce shoppers to products they might not encounter in a conventional grocery aisle. Store employees also had opportunities to explain how a rub, binder or sauce fit into the cooking process.
Another channel became increasingly important as Canada’s BBQ market developed.
Misko recalls that the country had only a handful of dedicated BBQ stores when House of Q entered the market in 2007. As home grilling and smoking became more established, specialty retailers selling grills, smokers, fuels, accessories, rubs and sauces expanded with the category.
For House of Q, BBQ retail has been its fastest-growing segment over the past five to 10 years, according to Misko. Independent butcher shops represent another major channel.
The company effectively grew alongside Canada’s specialty BBQ retail ecosystem.
“In short, grocery stores haven’t been a focus for our go-to-market strategy, but maybe that could be next,” Misko said. “We learned early on that we wanted to focus on merchants with a value-added relationship with their customers and that has proven to be with BBQ shops, butcher stores and gourmet outlets.”
The approach also gave House of Q a way to expand without depending entirely on supermarket shelf space, where smaller brands often compete for attention against significantly larger suppliers.
In more recent years, selected distributors have helped extend the company further across Canada by bringing the products to their own retail customers. Misko said that distributor-led growth has been central to House of Q’s expansion over the past five to 10 years.
From Independent Stores to Larger Retail Channels
Canada remains House of Q’s more established market.
After nearly two decades of selling and marketing BBQ products in this country, Misko said the company has developed a stronger understanding of how to explain the category to Canadian consumers. The U.S. market is considerably more crowded.
“There are more stores in Canada that carry House of Q sauces and spices than down south,” he said. “After 19 years of marketing in Canada, there may also be a bit of experience in describing BBQ to Canadians.”
The company’s growth has also included setbacks.
Misko pointed to the 2025 collapse of Peavey Mart as an example of the disruption suppliers can face when an established retail customer disappears. Roughly 90 Peavey Mart stores moved into closure during the retailer’s collapse, removing a significant retail channel from the Canadian market before the banner was later revived on a smaller scale under new ownership.
For a smaller supplier, the failure of a retailer can quickly alter distribution plans even when demand for the product itself has not changed.
House of Q has continued broadening its reach. Misko said the company has added distribution through TJX-owned stores in Canada, taking the brand beyond the independent and specialty merchants that historically formed the core of the business.
Retail Insider has also observed House of Q products on shelves at a HomeSense connected to Winners on Bloor Street in Toronto.
The presence points to a gradual evolution in the company’s retail mix. House of Q remains closely associated with specialty BBQ stores and independent butchers, while consumers are also encountering the brand in larger national retail environments.
Turning Competition Recipes Into Retail Products
House of Q’s product development process grew directly from competition.
When Misko began competing, specialized commercial BBQ products were less widely available. Pitmasters often needed to create their own sauces and spice blends, then refine them through repeated testing.
For House of Q, that meant adjusting recipes week after week in pursuit of better results from trained judges. The Kansas City Barbeque Society was a major presence in that world, with formal judging standards and a competition structure that rewarded consistency.
“When we first started competition BBQ, there wasn’t the same volume of commercial food products available, and we needed to make our own sauces and spices,” Misko said. “That meant crafting a recipe and making minor changes week after week until we consistently won awards from the trained judges.”
Once a recipe performed consistently, the company knew it had something worth keeping in its competition lineup. The next challenge was determining whether it could work as a commercial product.
Misko said early meetings with the company’s co-packer became an education in production at scale. Ingredients had to perform consistently, recipes needed to be repeatable, and commercial manufacturing could require changes that would never arise in a home kitchen or competition setting.
“Learning how to create recipes that are scalable and easily adjustable for commercial production posed a learning curve early on,” he said.
The company also had to accept that a recipe might need to change as it moved into manufacturing.
“Learning how things are made is one thing, but having the willingness to adapt your home recipe is another,” Misko said. “But we got there.”
That path from competition to commercialization became one of House of Q’s defining characteristics. Products were developed to perform in contests, refined through repeated judging and later adapted for home cooks and commercial production.
Slow Smoke Gold reflects that history.
Misko originally created the mustard-based sauce as a competition slather applied to raw meat before dry rubs or seasonings. The layer helps seasoning adhere during cooking and became part of his competition approach.
The sauce later developed into one of House of Q’s best-known retail products. Its tangy, gold-coloured profile differs from the thick, sweet, tomato-and-molasses sauces many consumers associate with barbecue, and the latest International Flavor Awards result adds to a longer record of recognition for the product.
A B.C. Production Network and a Growing BBQ Culture
House of Q is based in Vernon, but its production and logistics network extends across British Columbia.
The company’s sauces are manufactured in Vancouver, its spice rubs are produced in Burnaby and its warehouse is located in Abbotsford.
Misko said the COVID-19 period created ingredient and packaging challenges, though those pressures have since stabilized. He described the company’s current co-packer relationships as strong, with reliable turnaround times and high-quality production partners.
The pandemic also brought more consumers into home cooking. Misko said House of Q benefited as people experimented with grilling and smoking, followed by continued interest in outdoor cooking.
Canadian consumer research points to the depth of that behaviour. A survey by Caddle and Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, reported by Canadian Grocer, found that 42 per cent of Canadian consumers barbecue more than once a week during the summer.
For House of Q, the customer base extends well beyond serious pitmasters.
Misko said consumers encountered at trade shows across Canada often look surprisingly similar from one region to another. Many are families with several people to feed. Others are backyard enthusiasts who have become more sophisticated about multi-step cooking processes involving rubs, sauces and binders.
The common thread, he said, is an interest in flavour and product quality.
“Everyone just wants something that really tastes fantastic and makes them smile,” Misko said.
Looking South as the Category Evolves
House of Q sees further opportunity on both sides of the border.
In Canada, Misko believes the company can increase coverage through additional distribution and regional retail relationships. Grocery, historically outside the core strategy, could become a larger part of the mix.
The U.S. presents a different challenge. House of Q already has a retail presence there, according to Misko, along with American manufacturing relationships. It is also competing in a denser market filled with established products, pitmasters, creators and social media personalities.
“Meanwhile, we are still navigating how to market to the American consumer and differentiating our award-winning flavours, or should that be flavor?” he said.
Misko is also watching changes in the wider sauce and condiment business.
In May 2026, The Marzetti Company completed its acquisition of fast-growing Japanese barbecue sauce brand Bachan’s. Reuters reported the transaction at roughly US$400 million amid broader investor interest in sauce and spice companies.
For House of Q, the relevance is not that an acquisition is necessarily the objective. The company has not indicated that it is seeking a buyer. The broader activity shows how differentiated brands in adjacent categories are attracting strategic attention as the market evolves.
Misko sees an increasingly complex environment in which independent food companies face choices around distribution, manufacturing and scale.
“Navigating the increasingly complex food product market means making more choices,” he said.
For House of Q, those choices could include deeper Canadian distribution, additional regional and national retail relationships, further U.S. expansion or a larger move into grocery.
“It all starts with letting merchants and distributors know who you are, what your story is and if they want to share our love of BBQ with their customers,” Misko said.
Challenging a Canadian BBQ Inferiority Complex
For all the company’s growth, Misko believes Canadian BBQ brands still face a credibility challenge at home.
Canadian consumers are heavily influenced by American BBQ personalities, social media and YouTube creators, he said. That exposure has helped build interest in outdoor cooking, while also reinforcing a perception that serious BBQ expertise comes from south of the border.
House of Q has spent nearly two decades competing in that environment. Its products have won international awards, Misko has earned major competition results in the U.S., and the company has built a retail network spanning both countries.
Yet Canadian brands can still encounter a familiar assumption.
“It’s from Canada, what do Canadians know about BBQ?” Misko said, describing the attitude.
For House of Q, the challenge remains one shared by many independent consumer brands: earning shelf space, building awareness and giving shoppers a reason to look beyond larger or louder competitors.
The latest award for Slow Smoke Gold adds another answer.
Toronto-based Rawcology is expanding beyond its flagship grain-free granola with the launch of GUT TO GO, a new line of probiotic snack bites as the Canadian food company broadens its presence in the functional snack category. The new product is available in Apple Cinnamon, Berry Burst and Chocolate flavours and combines probiotics, apple cider vinegar, organic gluten-free oats, seeds and protein in a grab-and-go format.
The launch marks the company’s latest product expansion as it responds to growing consumer interest in convenient foods with added nutritional benefits. Rawcology says the new snack was developed to offer an accessible option for consumers seeking products that support digestive wellness while maintaining the company’s focus on organic, allergen-friendly ingredients.
The Toronto-based company says GUT TO GO is part of a broader growth strategy that includes additional snack innovations and expanded retail distribution over the coming year. Rawcology expects to introduce the product through retailers including Fortinos, Walmart and Thrifty Foods as it continues to grow its footprint across Canada and North America.
Food should do more than simply fill you up
Megan Loach Tomulka, CMO and Co-Owner, said Rawcology has always believed that food should do more than simply fill you up, it should help you feel your best.
“Over the years, we’ve built a loyal community around our grain-free granolas and better-for-you snacks, and one thing we kept hearing from customers was that they wanted more convenient options that fit into their busy lives,” she said.
“At the same time, we were seeing a significant shift in consumer behaviour. People are becoming more intentional about their food choices and increasingly looking for products that offer functional benefits without sacrificing taste.
Megan Loach Tomulka
“GUT TO GO was born from that intersection. We wanted to level up our current Granola Snack Bites and create a snack that was convenient, delicious, and accessible while incorporating ingredients that support digestive wellness. It felt like a natural extension of the Rawcology brand and our mission to make nutritious food easier to enjoy every day.”
A gap in the marketplace
Tomulka said the company saw a clear gap between traditional snack foods and many of the gut health products on the market.
“Consumers are increasingly interested in gut health, but many products in the category can feel intimidating, expensive, or require major changes to daily routines. We wanted to create something approachable, a snack people would genuinely crave and reach for every day,” she said.
“GUT TO GO brings together organic ingredients, probiotics, apple cider vinegar, gluten-free oats, and great taste in a convenient grab-and-go format. It’s designed for real life, busy parents, made nut free for school aged kids, commuters, students, professionals, and anyone looking for a better snack option.
“Our goal was to make gut health feel less like a wellness project and more like an easy, enjoyable part of everyday eating.”
Megan Loach Tomulka
Snack bites available in three flavours
Tomulka explained that GUT TO GO is a line of probiotic snack bites available in three flavours: Apple Cinnamon, Berry Burst, and Chocolate.
Each serving contains probiotics, apple cider vinegar, organic gluten-free oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and just 5 grams of sugar as well as 6-8g of protein per 60g serving. The product was designed to bridge the gap between function and flavour.
“What makes it different is that it doesn’t feel like a supplement disguised as a snack. It’s first and foremost a delicious food product. We know consumers won’t consistently eat something simply because it’s healthy, they have to genuinely enjoy it,” she said.
“We also wanted to make sure the product remained accessible. It’s organic, allergen-friendly, gluten-free, and made with ingredients people recognize and trust. That’s been central to Rawcology since day one.”
Consumers increasingly understand connection between food and wellbeing
Consumers today are more informed than ever. They’re reading ingredient labels, researching nutrition, and increasingly understanding the connection between food and overall wellbeing, added Tomulka.
“Gut health has become a focal point because people are recognizing that digestive wellness can influence many aspects of how they feel day-to-day. At the same time, major brands and retailers are investing heavily in the category, which has helped bring gut health into the mainstream,” she said.
“We believe consumers are moving away from an “all or nothing” approach to wellness and toward small, sustainable habits. That’s exactly where GUT TO GO fits in. It’s a simple snack people can enjoy at work, on the road, or at home while incorporating ingredients associated with digestive wellness into their daily routine.”
Megan Loach Tomulka
Balancing functionality with flavour
Tomulka said one of the biggest challenges in bringing the product to market was balancing functionality with flavour.
“Consumers have high expectations. They want products that deliver nutritional benefits, but they also want them to taste great, have the right texture, and fit within a reasonable price point,” she said.
“We spent a lot of time refining the recipes to ensure we could incorporate probiotics and apple cider vinegar while still creating a snack that people would genuinely crave. We also wanted to maintain the ingredient standards Rawcology is known for, organic ingredients, low sugar, allergen-friendly manufacturing, and clean labels.
“Like many food companies, we also navigate sourcing, packaging, production, and retail requirements, all while staying true to our values. It’s a complex process, but we believe the final product was worth the effort.”
Mission of having nutritious food accessible
And while the company has grown and evolved, its mission hasn’t changed at all.
“Rawcology was founded on the belief that nutritious food should be accessible, delicious, and made with integrity. That’s still at the core of every decision we make,” said Tomulka.
“What has evolved is our understanding of how we can serve consumers. As we’ve grown, we’ve expanded our thinking beyond individual products and toward helping consumers build healthier habits through convenient, everyday food choices and fully embracing that food is life changing!
Whether it’s granola, snack bites, or future innovations, our goal remains the same: create products that help people feel good, that have functional benefits without compromising on taste or quality.”
Megan Loach Tomulka
Commitment to innovation
Tomulka said GUT TO GO represents an exciting next chapter for Rawcology.
“It demonstrates our commitment to innovation while staying grounded in the values that built our brand. We’re focused on meeting consumers where they’re headed, and right now that’s at the intersection of convenience, functionality, and great taste,” she said.
“This launch reflects our belief that wellness products don’t need to be exclusive or complicated. They can be everyday foods that fit seamlessly into people’s lives.
“Coming down the pipeline we have two more exciting completely new product lines coming that we are really excited about in the snacking space. We’re investing in innovation, expanding our reach, and working to make better-for-you snacks accessible to even more Canadians and families across North America. We have some new retail launches coming up in Fortinos, Walmart and Thrifty foods in the next year, and a few others in the works we can’t talk about yet.
“The moment in front of us is incredibly exciting, and we’re just getting started.”
Growth in RBC Canadian cardholder spending held relatively stable in June as consumers continued to balance higher costs for essentials while selectively spending on seasonal experiences such as sporting events, according to an RBC report.
Abbey Xu
“Our estimate of core retail sales from cardholder transactions (excluding purchases of gasoline and autos) edged up 0.5% in June on a three-month average, similar to May, suggesting spending momentum remained positive despite ongoing budget pressures from higher energy prices,” said Abbey Xu and Rachel Battaglia, economists at RBC.
“Spending on discretionary goods led the way, posting the strongest gain among major categories on a three-month average. Essentials’ spending—including gasoline—also contributed to growth, while discretionary services rebounded after softening in May. Excluding gasoline, essential spending rose 0.5% on a three-month average, a welcome improvement after earlier signs of easing.
“The breadth of spending increases across categories points to households maintaining a cautiously optimistic view heading into the summer even as they remain selective about bigger-ticket discretionary purchases.”
Rachel Battaglia
The RBC report provided the following details:
Gasoline spending continued to outpace other categories, rising 2.3% on a three-month average. Gas prices were still up on a three-month average due to higher oil prices, but declined about 10% seasonally adjusted in June.
Entertainment and arts posted the second strongest gain at 1.7%, underscoring continued appetite for experience-related spending as summer activities pick up, including spending likely related to the FIFA World Cup.
Spending on clothing extended its positive trend, while dining also increased 0.7%, reversing weakness from prior months as consumers grew more comfortable with meals out with the improving weather and social activity.
Travel remained the outlier, continuing its decline on a three-month average, although the pace of contraction moderated in June. Households appear to remain cautious about larger discretionary purchases, but may be warming to travel deeper into summer.
Provincial trends were broadly positive with most regions posting spending growth on a three-month average. Ontario and British Columbia tied for the strongest performance, while Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island were the only provinces to see declines.
Slow checkout lines and outdated payment terminals aren’t just an inconvenience anymore, they’re costing retailers real sales. Oobit surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults and found that a meaningful share of shoppers are walking out the door the moment a business can’t keep up with how they actually want to pay. For retailers still relying on swipe-only setups, the data is a clear signal that the checkout experience itself has become a competitive risk.
Key Findings:
Over 1 in 4 American adults (28%) have walked away from a purchase because the merchant didn’t accept tap-to-pay.
44% say a no-tap business feels outdated, a perception problem that compounds the lost sales.
Gen Z shoppers are more than twice as likely as baby boomers to abandon a non-tap purchase (36% vs. 14%), a warning sign for retailers trying to win younger customers.
More than half of Americans (56%) used phone tap-to-pay in the past 30 days, meaning the customers retailers are losing aren’t a fringe group, they’re the mainstream.
1 in 4 American adults (25%) leave their wallet at home either deliberately or without thinking, including just over 1 in 10 (11%) who say they no longer feel they need it.
More than 2 in 5 Gen Z Americans (41%) treat their phone or smartwatch as their primary payment method, compared to 1 in 4 American adults nationally (25%).
Question: Your survey found that 28% of consumers have abandoned a purchase because tap-to-pay wasn’t available. What does that tell us about how consumer expectations at checkout have evolved?
Answer: In this context, the number seems to be a clear indicator that tap-to-pay has reached the level when it should not be considered nice to have but expected. In light of 27% of adults deciding not to complete transactions because a shop did not accept tap-to-pay and 44% of respondents finding it old-fashioned when a store did not accept taps, checkout friction has become a deal-breaker for many customers. People have grown accustomed to paying in one swipe. As soon as a retailer expects them to fish a card out of a pocket, the convenience of paying in one click breaks and the consumer does not hesitate to leave.
Q: Gen Z is far more likely than baby boomers to walk away from retailers that don’t accept tap-to-pay. How should retailers adapt their payment strategies to meet the expectations of younger shoppers?
A: The fact that members of Generation Z are almost twice as likely (36% vs. 14%) to avoid stores that do not accept taps indicates how much this trend can grow in the near future and how the retail market will change. Retailers interested in attracting young consumers cannot consider contactless payments a premium service and need to ensure that their terminals are equipped with NFC capabilities. Besides, retailers need to train their employees and consider potential implementation of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins stored in a wallet. Members of Generation Z and younger consumers who tend to use smartphones as primary devices are the most convenient group concerning in-wallet cryptos.
Q: Beyond avoiding lost sales, what other business benefits do retailers gain by modernizing their payment systems, such as improved customer loyalty or operational efficiency?
A: There are several ways how faster checkout can benefit retailers, even if they are not directly visible in a single transaction. Shorter queues mean increased checkout throughput during busy hours and are particularly important for quick-service and high-volume retail. Modern payment infrastructure, especially linked to mobile devices, provides for richer transactional data for developing personalized loyalty programs. Finally, the perception aspect: 44% of adults perceive no-tap checkout as being “outdated.” By modernizing the payment process, a retailer signals customers that it is a modern and reliable company, not only fast.
Oobit photo
Q: What are the biggest barriers preventing some retailers—particularly small and independent businesses—from adopting newer payment technologies, and how can they overcome them?
A: However, there is little reason to doubt that the barriers to implementing faster payment are usually related to cost, complexity, and inertia instead of the skepticism towards the technology itself. Terminal upgrade, renegotiation of processor contract, staff training all take some time and initial investment, which is hard to justify for a business with low margins. Moreover, many independent retailers stick to whatever infrastructure their processor provided initially and never update it. For example, modern POS providers already provide for NFC capability as a part of the package. Therefore, many smaller businesses are able to upgrade their checkout process simply by switching processors at a natural renewal date without any large investments.
Q: With ongoing economic uncertainty and consumers being more selective about where they spend, how important is a seamless checkout experience in helping retailers remain competitive and capture every potential sale?
A: When consumers are more selective about purchases, they become less patient in terms of payment and less willing to experience any unnecessary friction. Seemingly small issues can become reasons to abandon the shopping idea. Moreover, combined with the fact that nearly half of all adults find losing their phone more problematic than losing a wallet, payment convenience became an integral part of the approach to spending money. In such conditions, a retailer has to care not only about the quality and pricing of its products. Payment process became a part of the customer value proposition.
Why is consumer behaviour becoming harder to predict?
Consumers are changing faster than marketers can keep up. Economic uncertainty, AI-powered shopping tools, and shifting media consumption habits are making traditional audience segments less effective.
“People bounce between TikTok, an AI assistant, a store, and an app — sometimes in the same hour — and change their minds mid-stream. Demographics won’t save you anymore. You have to read what someone is actually doing right now, because that’s the only reliable signal of what they’ll buy next,” he said.
Ford said AI-powered shopping tools are the biggest shift since mobile.
“Shopping is becoming a conversation instead of a search. Nobody’s comparing 40 products anymore. They ask an AI and it hands them one answer. So the new fight isn’t for a search ranking. It’s to be the recommendation. And the whole journey collapses from days of research into a single conversation.”
So what data signals should retailers and brands prioritize today, and which traditional metrics are becoming less reliable?
“Behaviour beats demographics, full stop. Someone who searched hiking gear, walked into an REI (Recreational Equipment store), and bought a tent is telling you exactly what’s next. Knowing they’re 35 and live in a certain ZIP code tells you almost nothing. Impressions and clicks are the metrics I’d trust least. They measure attention, not intent,” explained Ford.
He said the best retailers stopped treating channels as separate campaigns.
Mike Ford
“A customer might find a product through an AI assistant, check it on social, touch it in a store, and buy it in the app. The winners build for that whole path. They’re also using AI to adjust creative and targeting in real time instead of waiting for the quarterly review, and investing in audience intelligence so they catch trends before their competitors do,” added Ford.
“The challenge is speed. Consumer behaviour is changing faster than most marketing orgs can react. The opportunity is that brands have never had richer behavioural data. Combine purchase data, location, and search behaviour and you can anticipate what customers need instead of chasing them after the fact. The whole game is moving from understanding audiences to understanding intent. The brands that make that jump win.”
Skydeo is a U.S.-based audience intelligence and data analytics company that helps retailers, brands and marketers identify and target consumers based on real-time behavioural signals rather than traditional demographic data.
There’s a counterintuitive story sitting right now at the centre of retail: in a world of infinite digital options, physical presence has become a competitive advantage — not a legacy cost. The brands figuring that out are pulling ahead on both trust and conversion.
The conventional wisdom is that e-commerce has made physical retail an afterthought. The data says otherwise. In-store retail media ad spending is expected to climb 33% in 2026. Nearly three-quarters of Gen Z shop in-store weekly. And experiential campaigns — when done right — are delivering returns of 3:1 to 5:1 on spend.
The question isn’t whether in-person brand moments work. It’s why so many brands still can’t execute them
Also: 80% of consumers say in-person events are the most trusted way to discover new products — and 85% are more likely to make a purchase after engaging with a brand in person.
Meanwhile, e-commerce keeps growing. So why are smart brands investing more in physical experiences, not less?
In an interview with Retail Insider, Jeff Snyder, founder and Chief Inspiration Officer atInspira Marketing, elaborates on what’s happening.
Question: What are the biggest mistakes brands make when trying to turn in-store experiences into actual sales rather than just foot traffic?
Answer: When someone interacts with your brand in person, whether it’s a pop-up or live demo, they internalize it. That kind of engagement drives long-term brand relationships because it simultaneously taps into emotion, memory, and relevance.
The biggest mistake brands make when launching in-store experiences is failing to define what they want to achieve before designing the experience. The second mistake follows closely behind: not setting clear KPIs to measure progress toward that goal. We know experiential marketing delivers on emotional engagement, brand loyalty, and long-term value, but if the actual objective is increasing on-site sales or CRM signups, the experience needs to be architected so that the outcome happens organically.
Take a new product launch as an example. Cross-channel storytelling, pre-seeded social content that builds demand ahead of time, and influencer content introducing the product before it hits the shelves all work together to prime consumers. By the time someone engages with the product in-store, the groundwork has already been laid, and increased sales follow naturally, while the in-person experience builds relevance and long-term affinity for the brand, not just the product.
Jeff Snyder
Q: Why are some brands succeeding with experiential retail while others still struggle to execute meaningful in-person activations?
A: It comes down to creating community and a sense of belonging. Shoppers gravitate toward stores that immerse them in multi-sensory brand worlds rather than simply presenting products on a shelf. When we think about retailers doing this well, a few come to mind right away: Sephora offers personalization and education, Alo hosts in-store workout classes, and Nike’s House of Innovation in New York turns retail into a showcase and innovation studio. Apple lets customers try new products and take classes on the spot. Even Home Depot and Brass Pro Shops pull this off in their own ways, proving the approach works across very different categories.
Brands and retailers are now driving engagement through hyper-local, multi-touch strategies. I expect experiences to keep moving toward something more community-based and tailored, with local stores and small businesses curating products and moments around local tastes, perhaps leaning on AI to understand what those tastes are. In practice, that looks like community collaborations, food tastings, and pop-ups built for a neighbourhood rather than a national template.
Q: How has the path from an in-store brand interaction to a purchase decision changed in the last few years, particularly with Gen Z consumers?
A: Once Gen Z is standing in the store, the phone doesn’t go away; it becomes part of the decision. Gen Z expects a frictionless omnichannel shopping experience, using their phones to compare prices, check reviews, and browse online while shopping in physical stores.
Gen Z might discover a product on social, price-compare in-app, and transact in-store, meaning the “research” phase doesn’t end when they walk through the door. They’re often pulling up reviews, comparing prices against other retailers, and checking whether a friend or influencer they trust has posted about the exact item in their hand. In fact, they may be crowdsourcing the decision on social from the try on room. It’s an entirely different decision-making process than prior generations.
For brands, that changes what physical stores need to deliver. It’s no longer competing against other brick-and-mortar shops; it’s competing against whatever’s on the shoppers’ screen in that moment. QR codes, in-store social proof, and staff who can speak to what’s being said online now matter as much as the product display itself.
Vitaly Gariev photo
Q: You’ve said winning brands think more like experience designers than merchandisers — what does that mindset look like in practice?
A: Thinking like an experience designer means starting with the feeling you want to leave someone with, then building backward from there, rather than starting with shelves and merchandise and hoping something sticks. Where a merchandiser thinks about placement, an experience designer thinks about the story someone is walking into, what they’ll touch, how they’ll move through the space, and what they’ll want to share after. The best retailers are already doing that. They’re paying attention to the areas shoppers gravitate toward, where they slow down, and what they come back to.
Q: With in-store retail media spending rising so quickly, how should brands measure ROI and determine whether an experiential campaign is truly effective? A: In-store retail media is growing fast. In-store retail media ad spending in the U.S. is forecasted to grow an average of 31% through 2028. With that much money invested, brands need real proof it’s working. That means tracking a full stack of signals together: foot traffic lift against pre-campaign baselines, dwell time in the experience zone, conversion from engagement to purchase, and customer acquisition cost compared to other channels.
The real shift is connecting the in-store moment to what happens after someone leaves. If someone shows up to an event, then buys something in an email follow-up, or online a week later, or back in-store next month, that all counts as one connected result. Loblaw and Sam’s Club, for example, now have systems that follow a consumer’s activity for months after an event, so brands can see what really worked long-term instead of guessing. Brands that get the most out of experiences are the ones that decide upfront, before the event ever happens, what they’re trying to achieve and how they’ll know if it worked.
