Honey, I Shrunk The Store: Retailers Go Smaller to Grow Bigger

It may seem like a paradox, but retailers like Macy's, Ikea, Nike, Target, Amazon, Nordstrom and more are all pursuing small store format strategies in hopes of getting closer to customers and reigniting market share growth. While this isn't fundamentally a new idea--and one could argue that for some it's coming at least a decade too late--this next generation of concepts is less about merely optimizing a store's size to make more locations work, but rooted in addressing the increasingly hybrid nature of retail's brave new world and the changing dimensions of convenience.

We unpack what's driving these moves, why it's important and what to avoid as we're likely to see a doubling down on this strategy in the years ahead.

But first we open up the episode with our quick takes on recent retail news that caught our attention, including Whole Foods' killing free 2-hour delivery and replacing it with a $9.95 flat fee, earnings from Nike, Costco and Bed, Bath & Beyond (spoiler alert: yikes!), retail's IPO boomlet and Santa visits Target early this year. We wrap up with our popular "Press Releases That Must Have Gotten Lost in the Mail" segment, wherein HomeGoods discovers this e-commerce thing could be huge.

Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his website. The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel here.

Michael LeBlanc is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. You can learn more about Michael here or on LinkedIn.

Join us at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York June 23rd and 24th with this exclusive discount code for 10% off general admission tickets and FREE retail tickets: Your code is "REMARKABLE" . See you in the Big Apple!

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.