On a sunny Tuesday, our February store watch took us over the bridge into Wales, where we explored some of Cardiff’s largest stores to assess the evolving retail media landscape. With Valentine’s Day behind us, Easter was now in full focus with every store featuring large, chocolate-themed displays and full Easter aisles.
Among the retailers, Sainsbury’s stood out for it’s use of technology, particularly at it’s Talbot Green store, which recently underwent a major overhaul to become one of the retailer’s flagship stores.
Digital displays were everywhere, with interactive touchscreens encouraging shopper engagement at key points throughout the store. Inspiration in the form of recipes, and information regarding product, their availability, and their location in the store were easily accessed via the large screens placed at various points throughout.
Sainsbury'sTalbot Green, Cardiff
Upon entering this large, newly refurbed Sainsbury’s, we were immediately met with a striking freestanding archway installation for Ecover cleaning products, setting the tone for the rest of the store.
Digital screens were prominent in every section, helping to signpost categories and product ranges. Each aisle was awash with the usual mix of aisle fins, FSDUs and floor media. Multiple branded bays highlighted the larger brands
Notably, there were very few on-pack promotions on shelves, possibly due to the time of year.
Toward the back of the store, partner brands Habitat and Argos had a very strong visible presence, again using large digital screens to help customers navigate their areas of the store.
Overall, the store was exceptionally clean, well-organised and enjoyable to browse… equally on par with the other flagship store we have visited in Witney in Oxfordshire. Well done, JS!
TescoVarious, Cardiff
We visited two large Tesco stores, both similar in size. Upon approaching the entrance to the store, shoppers were welcomed by digital D6 posters rotating through bright and vibrant creative, while FSDUs and aisle fins were abundant throughout once inside. Branded bays provided strong visibility for leading brands in aisle, and digital screens on gondola ends rotated between brand messaging and Tesco Clubcard promotions.
In the larger store, we saw the especially impactful digital goalpost display positioned above bulk purchases of lager and Coca-Cola. Reminiscent of online digital leaderboards, these wide & narrow displays effectively captured attention as shoppers moved through the aisles.
AsdaCardiff
The Asda store we visited featured a sizeable homewares section, content of which was highlighted on eye-catching lightboxes on the gondola ends along with digital header boards throughout.
Again, branded bays were prevalent, accompanied by Asda’s signature formats, including promotional gondola-ends with their pyramid headerboards and freestanding side stacks.
Creative executions from Ariel, Pot Noodle, and Heinz all stood out .
Interestingly, Asda seemed to have the most on-pack promotions of any retailer this month… with some examples of retailer specific prizes on show.
MorrisonsCardiff
At Morrisons, we encountered all the expected elements of this retailer’s in-store retail media strategy. Floor stickers and aisle fins were heavily utilised, reinforcing promotions throughout the store.
One standout activation was the significant push for the More Card promotion, allowing shoppers to swap points for Pyrex dishes. This was advertised through a bespoke cardboard installation positioned at the entrance. While there were plenty of on-pack promotions, the store lacked any real innovation in retail media formats and technology.
