Diversified Exhibitions, Case Study

Designing the Future in Real Time

When Diversified Exhibitions needed to showcase the future of retail, they didn’t commission a booth they handed Morris the keys to a pavilion. Retail 2020 became the centrepiece of their national trade exhibition, designed in partnership with multiple retail and trade associations, and built as a fully immersive walk-through of the next decade in shopping.

As curator, Morris conceptualised and led the design of the Retail 2020 Pavilion. It featured future-focused innovations like AR-enhanced shopping, smart shelves, ambient payments, and digital storytelling zones. Thousands of industry professionals including association heads, suppliers, and retail leaders moved through a living prototype of what was coming next, not as observers but as participants.

This wasn’t just an exhibit. It was a cross-industry collaboration between event organisers, associations, and foresight. It helped peak bodies across retail understand how to engage members not just in theory, but in tangible, strategic action.

Shift: From trend-chasing to tangible immersion associations and industry leaders experiencing the future before it arrived.

The result? A benchmark event that shaped member engagement strategies across multiple sectors, and proved that when you build the future properly, people don’t just watch they walk through it.