Toronto’s retail landscape is being reimagined as brands increasingly seek out an alternative to traditional storefronts in favor of unconventional spaces to create impactful consumer experiences. Behind the scenes of this transformation is a growing network of specialists, consultants and agencies facilitating connections between innovative brands and underutilized urban spaces. Among these experts is Nick Iozzo, President and Founder of Toronto-based The Ancillary Agency, who shared insights with 6ixRetail.com on how these partnerships are reshaping the city’s retail environment.
Brands are now strategically distinguishing between two types of retail activations, according to Iozzo. “What we’re finding often on the experiential style of pop-up is about brand awareness, impressions, and traffic,” he explains in an interview with 6ixRetail.com. “When you’re more transactional, there’s product, there’s safety concerns—that’s got to be in a more secure type of environment.”
This critical distinction has fueled the growing demand for open-concept spaces where consumers can engage without the commitment of entering a traditional store. High-density areas like outdoor plazas fronting office buildings, promotional courts in shopping centers, and vacant lots in entertainment districts have become prime targets.
“For some people, they don’t have the time nor do they want to have that engagement,” Iozzo notes, identifying a key consumer behavior shift. “The ability to walk by in more of an open space is what is being a lot more appealing for those brands and agencies.”
Perhaps the most significant trend driving this shift is the pursuit of consumers who rarely engage with traditional retail environments.
“They may be this digital generation and they may not shop in a traditional shopping center, they may shop online, but they are still going go to a bar, still go to a restaurant, they’re still going go to a sporting event, they’re still going go to a festival,” Iozzo says. “The brands now want to engage where those consumers are.”
This strategy has produced remarkable results. A BTS pop-up at Scarborough Town Centre illustrates the power of this targeted approach. “There must have been about 2,000-3,000 people in line on a Friday night, sleeping in the mall overnight for the opening on Saturday morning,” Iozzo recalls.
The demographic analysis revealed something even more valuable: “Those were shoppers that a good portion of them had not been into that shopping center in the last 24 months,” with geo-fencing data showing “some of them were coming in from two to three hours away.”
Beyond the pursuit of foot traffic, brands are now recognizing the qualitative value of engaging consumers during heightened emotional experiences. Pop-ups strategically positioned near concert venues or sporting events capitalize on consumers’ elevated emotional states.
“People are going to a concert happy, engaged. This has been an experience they have been waiting for weeks, months, and for some instances, years for,” Iozzo explains. “That excitement… when they get to interact with a type of brand that is activating, that positive vibe just builds that brand relationship.”
This emotional connection creates significantly more brand value than traditional retail interactions where consumers might be rushed or distracted. “There’s a difference between me sampling a product, hurrying on my way to the office and I’m five minutes late for a meeting… [versus] after a great Habs game win, after a concert, that emotional connection’s a lot better.”
When asked about Toronto areas with untapped potential, Iozzo immediately identifies the PATH system as a prime opportunity, despite post-pandemic narratives about reduced office occupancy.
“On average, I think you’re getting close to that 70 to 75 percent [of pre-pandemic traffic],” he counters, noting that while numbers are down from 2019 peaks, the absolute figures remain impressive. “You had well over 120 to 130,000 people a day walking through [Royal Bank Plaza] as you entered and exited Union Station… the numbers could be down by 20%, but you still have 90 to 100,000 people going through.” This is the size of a small – medium size city in Canada.
The PATH system offers multiple daily engagement opportunities with the same consumers. “They may walk by three, four, five times to the office, to go grab a coffee, to go grab lunch… That’s way more than the impressions you’re going to get in a 100% occupied shopping center, strip plaza, or street front location.”
Beyond the PATH, Iozzo highlights several emerging hotspots. Ossington Avenue remains in high demand: “I probably get one or two inquiries a month… It’s dense, lot of traffic. You don’t need to spend marketing dollars to attract somebody.” The area’s mixed-use character means brands can “engage traditional retail maybe during the day, but then when the restaurants and the bars are off load… having the ability to engage daytime and weekends, you’re stretching that dollar a lot further.”
With construction winding down and residential occupancy rising in Canary District, Iozzo sees “ability to find that synergy between Distillery and Canary Districts.” As LRT construction progresses at Yonge and Eglinton, the transit connections offer new potential. “Once you’ve got two major transit nodes connecting, which then you can actually directly exit to the plaza and into Young and Eglinton Centre, [that] definitely would open up that node.”
King West and The Well represent another emerging retail corridor. “The Well to me is really just an offshoot of the whole King West neighborhood,” Iozzo notes. While King Street itself has limitations due to its heritage buildings, “The Well is that natural extension where the spaces have been created and curated specifically for that engagement with the customer.”
The appetite for pop-up spaces among property owners continues to evolve cyclically. Pre-pandemic, many landlords purposely set aside spaces for pop-up programs. “Landlords who may have had close to full occupancy in malls have decided to set spaces aside for a pop-up program to test out new concepts, to encourage a DTC, Direct to Consumer, online brands to test out concepts for a bricks and mortar rollout,” Iozzo explains.
But the pandemic forced a reset, and now a new trend is emerging, particularly in office buildings where landlords are creating engagement opportunities to entice workers back to physical spaces.
“These landlords realize we need to provide events and opportunities and engagement so that those workers want to come in and they feel that there’s a difference of coming in,” Iozzo says. “You’ll see Royal Bank Plaza with their Signature Series every month Those are those types of events that are drawing people in and then what we’re finding from there is we’re finding vendors to come in to activate for the two or three days.”
This creates what Iozzo calls a “domino effect” – events leading to pop-ups, potentially evolving into permanent retail locations. “You’ll see companies like Bentall GreenOakQuadreal Cadillac Fairview and Colliers, all working to find ways to engage those people coming in… events leading into pop-up, pop-up going into permanent retail.”
For brands seeking these unconventional spaces, several key factors drive location decisions. Proximity to events is paramount. “A brand who wants to engage with that customer base wants to be as close to that venue as possible… Purely simple geography 101,” says Iozzo.
Density levels follow closely. “The number of people you may engage in a more densely urban location is going to be greater over five days than perhaps a more suburban location that may be more car oriented.”
Physical requirements and timing round out the considerations. “I have clients that we work with that need 30,000 square feet and 16 and 20 foot ceilings with open floor plates. That minimizes the opportunities that are out there,” Iozzo notes. For timing, non-traditional spaces often offer more flexibility than enclosed retail units, which landlords may be holding for future redevelopment or permanent tenants.
As Toronto continues to redefine its retail identity, these unconventional spaces are proving that retail innovation isn’t just about what you sell, but where and how you engage with consumers. The city’s forgotten and underutilized spaces are becoming the new frontier for brands seeking authentic community connections in an increasingly digital world.
Dustin Fuhs is the Editor-in-Chief of 6ix Retail. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of Retail Insider, Canada’s most-read retail trade publication. He has over 20 years of experience in the retail, marketing, entertainment and hospitality industries, including with The Walt Disney Company, The Hockey Hall of Fame, Starbucks and Blockbuster.
Dustin was named as a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert in 2024 and 2025.