WH Smith North America

Creating a Strong Sense of Place

At WH Smith North America, we design stores in airports throughout the United States and Canada, so capturing attention in a high-traffic environment starts with creating a strong and immediate sense of place.

When I begin a new project, one of the first things I do is research the city and community the airport serves. I look for the unique characteristics, culture, history, neighborhoods and visual elements that resonate with both travelers and local residents. I often approach the design with one question: if someone flew into the airport but never had the opportunity to leave, could our store give them a meaningful sense of what that city is all about?

Strong sightlines, intuitive layouts and compelling merchandise are essential. But I believe it is the authentic sense-of-place details that truly differentiate our stores from a typical airport retail experience. Those local connections make the environment more memorable, engaging and meaningful to travelers.

Designing for the Complete Customer Experience

Store design plays a critical role in shaping the customer experience because it influences how customers feel, move through and interact with an environment.

In an airport setting, the design needs to make shopping easy and comfortable, particularly for travelers navigating the store with luggage and time constraints. The environment must be easy and accessible while also being visually compelling enough to capture attention and encourage customers to explore.

However, I don't believe great customer experiences are created by store design alone. I think of successful retail through the lens of the three A's: Assortment, Associates and Architecture. The assortment needs to be relevant and compelling, associates need to deliver excellent service and the architecture and design need to create an environment that supports the overall experience.

When those three elements work together, you create more than a beautiful store—you create an experience customers genuinely want to engage with.

Balancing Visual Impact with Retail Performance

Balancing visual impact with operational performance is one of the most important aspects of retail design, particularly in high-volume environments like airports.

Every store has different sales volumes, product categories, customer flows and operational requirements. We begin with the business and sales plan, ensuring that the fixture layout and merchandise capacity can support the demands of the store. The design has to work operationally first.

Store design plays a critical role in shaping the customer experience because it influences how customers feel, move through and interact with an environment.

From there, I look for strategic opportunities to layer in visual impact without compromising performance. That might mean creating a focal point above a wall fixture, introducing an unexpected visual moment on a table or using lighting, graphics and architectural elements to tell a story.

The key is being intentional. Great retail design is about creating memorable moments in the right places while supporting the merchandise, customer flow and overall performance of the business.

Evolving the Retail Experience in Airports

One of the most interesting trends we're seeing is the expansion of what customers are willing to shop for in high-traffic environments like airports. Categories that traditionally may not have been associated with airport retail are proving successful when they are thoughtfully curated. For example, we've seen strong interest in categories like authenticated pre-owned luxury handbags.

We're also seeing brands become more flexible and experimental with physical retail. Some are using temporary installations and short-term leasing opportunities to showcase new launches, test concepts and create excitement around a specific campaign or moment.

The larger trend is that airports are increasingly becoming legitimate retail destinations rather than simply places for convenience purchases.

Advice for Emerging Retail Design Professionals

My biggest piece of advice is simple: travel, observe and stay curious. Some of the best inspiration doesn't come from studying other retail stores. It comes from experiencing different cities, cultures, restaurants, hotels, museums and neighborhoods. Travel exposes you to different perspectives and helps you understand what makes a place feel authentic and memorable.

I encourage people to see everything and draw inspiration from anything. Pay attention to how people move through spaces, how brands tell stories and what creates an emotional connection.

Creative leadership is ultimately about curiosity and perspective. The more experiences you expose yourself to, the broader your understanding becomes—and that perspective allows you to create ideas that feel fresh, relevant and meaningful.