For years, the retail outcome seemed settled: online shopping would dominate, and physical stores would shrink, and the future of shopping would happen primarily on screens. Yet the most surprising trend of the 2020s is unfolding right in front of us. Gen Z, the first digital natives, are leading a renewed surge back into brick-and-mortar stores. And they're not alone. Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers are also rediscovering the appeal of in-person shopping, but Gen Z is the cultural engine accelerating the shift.