The retail industry continues to go through a massive change as it adapts to e-commerce. For 2026, Warren Shoulberg of The Robin Report suggests that there are some stores to watch over the coming year. He writes:

It was one wacky year for the retail business, but any number of brands endured—even prospered. We expect the same unpredictability in 2026 when both individual and fleets of new stores arrive on the retail landscape. No doubt there will be a few last-minute surprises but, for now, here’s our preview of what’s in store for the new year. We’ve also included a few late-2025 arrivals that may not have been on your dance card.

Limited Openings

• Primark Herald Square New York: The Irish-based deep discounter has stepped up its expansion efforts in the U.S. these past few years, but this opening marks its first Manhattan location, and it went high-profile to be sure. It’s across the street from Macy’s in the former Old Navy flagship. At four stories and 78,000 square feet—54,000 square feet of selling space—it will be the biggest store on the block and should attract serious crowds. The irony that shouldn’t be lost on anyone is that Old Navy was a market leader in its day. Primark, carpe diem.
• Wayfair: The giant home furnishings retailer, so far limited to one full-line store outside of Chicago, will open in Atlanta in the spring and later in the year in the Denver metropolitan area …if all goes according to plan. At around 150,000 square feet, these stores are meant to be the physical manifestation of the online shopping experience, with just about everything and anything somebody could want for their home, including the kitchen sink.
• Netflix House: Technically, the streaming service’s first two stores opened in late 2025, in the Philadelphia and Dallas markets. The next one is not scheduled to open until 2027 in Las Vegas. This retail concept belongs on our list, given how few people in the business have actually been in a Netflix store. These 100,000-square-foot interactive—dare we say immersive or experiential—stores offer countless attractions keyed into the network’s shows, including Stranger Things and Bridgerton. They are free to enter, but the meter starts running pretty soon thereafter. Is this the future of shopping mall anchors? Visit one, and then you tell us.

Read more here.