Combining the Online and Physical Retail Experience to Create a New Model for the Food Retail Industry: Focussing on Promoting and Sustaining Small Businesses

Small businesses make up a large part of the Canadian job force. Due to online shopping, lack of small business analysis and most importantly, Covid safety precautions this area of the retail market has been greatly affected. This study aimed to investigate retail and business spaces through an interior design lens to create a flexible retail food hall concept that promotes and sustains small businesses in a competitive market. This study explores affordability, flexibility, sustainability, and education to develop a new model for the food retail industry by combining the online and physical shopping experiences. Through the development of a theoretical and conceptual framework, surveys and interviews were conducted with interior designers, small business managers and industry representatives to collect project-specific data to examine the hypothesis. Observational studies were conducted in similar retail environments to understand user and visitor experience and performance. Based on the findings within the literature review and research data, this study supports the hypothesis that states creating a new model for the retail food industry which combines various shopping environments ​​comprised of multiple platform offerings such as business education spaces and a food hall concept will promote and sustain small business vendors within a competitive market. Considering the results, this study also suggests that the proposed retail food hall should be located at 21 Ossington Avenue. Implementing a flexible retail food hall environment will create a hub of interaction and community in this downtown Toronto neighbourhood and will perpetuate a market for small business retailers.