Trend Hunter TV · Insights in 60 Seconds
Hangout Stores
In short
Hangout Stores is a retail trend where stores are designed as places to linger, socialize, and create experiences instead of only making sales. Trend Hunter's research finds that brands are filling the gap left by dying malls, pricier diners, and disappearing third places, with examples including Nomias building a half-pipe, Golden Goose offering a customization bar, Gelato Pique opening a two-story cafe, and Target's Soho store being designed to feel like a gallery, while social commerce drops from about 20% to around 10% of shoppers in 2025. For retailers and brands, this creates an opportunity to turn downtime into conversion by building physical spaces that encourage staying, filming, posting, and community use.
Transcript
Stores aren't just trying to sell you stuff anymore. Instead, they want you to get cozy and stay for a while. The reality is that in-person interaction has been changing over the last decade. Malls are dying, diners are becoming increasingly expensive, and third places have basically vanished.
And Gen Z is becoming a generation priced out of dining and exhausted of screens with nowhere to just be. So brands are filling that space. Nomia has built a half-pipe. Golden Goose now offers a customization bar. Gelato Pique has opened its doors to a two-story cafe, and Target's Soho store was designed to feel like a gallery.
Downtime is the new conversion. Consumers stay, film, and post, and suddenly the store becomes a community space. And it's being proven: social commerce actually dropped from about 20% to around 10% of shoppers in 2025. People want a physical place to create experiences.
For more signals like Hangout Store, check out our annual trend report arriving this September at Future Festival World Summit.