Product alone is no longer enough to win over new generations of consumers (Gen Z and Alpha). Younger consumers expect brands to create ultra-personalized experiences that offer a sense of belonging. NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show Europe, taking place in Paris from September 15 to 17, 2026, will highlight how brands are reinventing consumer engagement through the creation of micro-communities, affinity platforms, and targeted collaborations.
Rather than traditional mass marketing, this new wave of consumers is pushing retailers to reinvent engagement through the creation of micro-communities, affinity platforms, and targeted collaborations.
Jill Dvorak, senior vice president of Content, NRF: “Retail has become a vector for social connection and cultural expression. The rise of engaged communities and new digital spaces for exchange is profoundly redefining the relationship of trust with the consumer. For retailers, the major challenge of tomorrow will be to balance the powerhouse impact of traditional brand strategies with the authenticity of these new community roots, in order to build a sustainable and shared dialogue.”
Retail is more than Products: Retail is Cultural
Young generations are looking for brands that share their values. Commerce is becoming cultural and successful brands are tapping into fashion, gaming, music, and sports to maintain brand loyalty.
NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show Europe will feature a panel discussion about cultural relevancy titled “Marketing with a Twist: Co-Create, Play, Remember.” This session will host two global retail giants, Rossana Mastrosimini, Branded Channel Director West Europe at The Lego Group, and Sarah Jackson, Global Director of License and Partnerships at Primark. They have made it a strategic priority to elevate the customer experience and drive fan engagement. By leveraging imagination, play, co-creation, and powerful licensing partnerships, these two iconic brands masterfully demonstrate how to transform simple consumption into a vehicle for cultural and intergenerational connections.
“Beyond the object itself, our brick is a fantastic tool for collective storytelling. Today, new generations express a deep need for creativity and sharing. Our mission is to provide our communities with spaces for expression where they can make our universe their own, play together, and extend the LEGO experience far beyond the act of purchase and create lasting memories,” Rossana Mastrosimini, Branded Channel Director West Europe at The Lego Group, said.
“Clothing has become a cultural marker and a means of self-expression in its own right for young consumers. By partnering Primark with iconic pop culture and entertainment licenses, we transform our collections into genuine spaces for sharing. The store thus becomes a physical extension of their shared passions and a place to assert one’s identity,” Sarah Jackson, Global Director of License and Partnerships at Primark, said.
