Creative Retail Awards announces 2026 shortlist

The Creative Retail Awards has revealed its 2026 shortlist, as well as a new home for the awards event later this year.

This year’s ceremony will take place at The Clapham Grand in London on Thursday 15th October, moving from its previous venue at the Emerald Theatre.

A recently released 2026 Shortlist Guide has also revealed the projects competing for the retail design industry honours.

Drawn from more than 500 entries, the shortlist spans twenty categories and five continents, taking in flagship stores, festive windows, pop-ups, hospitality, supermarkets, and in-store visual media.

The shortlisted work reaches from Tokyo to New York and Riyadh to Sydney. Among the projects competing this year are Coach’s Winter Forest at the Lotte East Busan Outlet in South Korea and its Tabby Shop pop-up in Sydney; the Armani x Kith pop-up at Topping Rose House in New York; Bulgari’s Diva’s Dream pop-up in Riyadh; and RH Paris on the iconic Champs-Élysées avenue.

The shortlist also reflects what the organisers of the awards call “a strong year for British retail.”

Fortnum & Mason appears for its Enchanted Christmas display, alongside window schemes A Perfect Spring Day and Fresh Tea Infusion. Harrods is recognised twice, for the fifth-floor Shoe Heaven scheme with Christian Louboutin and for Brunello Cucinelli’s Christmas takeover. Selfridges is shortlisted for its Beauty Hall and its Disney Christmas Windows, while IKEA’s Oxford Street store makes the list for an LED window façade and immersive live studio.

Other nominees include The Design Museum’s Wes Anderson exhibition, B&Q’s Wandsworth mural with artist Dominika Karc, the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Covent Garden, and Dr. Martens’ Soho Beacon Store.

Antony Behiels, director at The Shop & Display Equipment Association (SDEA) and co-organiser of the Awards, says: “The shortlist speaks for itself. What strikes me most is how much of this work would have been unimaginable five years ago, and how much of it comes from outside the UK.

“Physical retail is in a far better creative state than the headlines suggest and this guide is the proof. As for The Clapham Grand, it’s a wonderful venue, and exactly the sort of place a night like this deserves.”