Optim-Eyes of Detroit, Mich., designed by Eye Designs, is the epitome of the modern dispensary. Does it provide a hint of what's to come?

What's the biggest change in optical retailing over the past 100 years? According to Sandy Bright of Bright Displays, "It's the new focus on merchandise and the use of props and lighting to draw attention."

So, what's ahead?

Richard Winig of Eye Designs predicts that over the next 10 years consolidation will increase with smaller practices becoming larger. In that environment, he says technology will play an even more critical role. "This will necessitate more and better education areas and more interactive environments, as opposed to static frames on display. There will be more computer sales, but still people will want to touch the product. Flexible display is a must."

Flexible design. Flexibility first became a buzzword in optical in the '90s, offering opportunities for quick and inexpensive change. It is, for example, why Greg Gorman of St. Louis-based GMG Design recently choose an outrigger system -- poles with adjustable shelves -- for more of an apparel look in a store for Erker Optical.

Diversity. Lori Estrada of Fashion Optical Displays in Paradise, Calif., says, "The greatest design challenge is going to be diversity -- meeting individual needs with individual design."

High touch. Some believe stores in the new millennium may not look so different after all. The reasoning: The more we move into high tech, the more we need the comfort and high touch of familiar surrounds.

Remaking malls. Shopping as entertainment, seen as an antidote to Internet fever, will guide the redesign of America's ailing malls. It will be a challenge in a retail industry polarized by convenient, low-priced warehouse stores at one end and experience shopping destinations that provide a sense of place at the other.

Entertainment factor. Susan Doubilet, in the October '99 issue of Architectural Record, notes: "Fearing that shoppers will eventually tire of the usual anchor-department-store-and-boutique format, and wary that more and more shoppers will frequent the warehouse store or purchase via the Internet, mall developers are adding places where people can come to be entertained -- full-service restaurants, cinemas, and themed attractions."

Product goes center stage. San Francisco-based architect Ilan Dei, who designed the Oliver Peoples' New York store shown in the April '99 issue of Interior Design Magazine, says that stores of the future must "seduce and encourage independent activity with the product. People want to make choices! Product must be visible, accessible, and displayed in interiors with softer, not hard-edge colors."

Elegance and textures. Bill Gerber of Delectable Displays adds, "The future promises elegance -- in dark burled woods and metals, probably silver, which is most identified with the millennium."

Eclectic boutique. And, Erwin Winkler, CEO of ALU, says, "We see the idea of the big brand, eclectic boutiques, Modernism pervasive in better brands, and the sparse aesthetic. But, there is a reaction against that as well!"

The bottom line, concludes Winkler, is that "people will continue to look for value and individuality." EB