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As we come out the other side of the festive season, January is a hodge podge of occasion marking across retailers. We saw everything from Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Valentine’s placements to Easter, Christmas and even Halloween!

There were a handful of promotions across the stores this month, including ‘Win Lunch Everyday for a Year’ from Walkers, ‘30% off Merlin Annual Passes’ from Cadbury’s, ‘Win £1,000’ from Felix cat food and ‘Win an Ultra Madeira Adventure’ from Monster Energy amongst others. 

Across all of the retail media we saw, there was a distinct presence of branded communications that supported customers with their decisions at shelf, for example, Napolina’s aisle fins explained what each of their types of beans were good for and Tesco’s food aisle explained the different types of apples and oranges. 

The winner of the most POS across all stores was… Cadbury’s Creme Egg – they were everywhere! On reflection, Cadbury’s are everywhere at the moment – Creme Eggs, Heroes, Roses plus full range promotion.

AsdaBedminster, Bristol

This month, ASDA (and the other retailers too) had a strange mix of occasion marking POS on display. Some that were relevant such as Lunar New Year (Weds. 29th Jan) and Ramadan (Fri, 28 Feb 2025 – Sun, 30 Mar 2025), some ahead of time like Easter (Sun, 20 Apr 2025) and some going back in time to Halloween and Christmas 2024!

A lovely customer friendly theme we spotted were displays actively supporting the customer decision making process. From simple messaging around ‘The Nation’s Favourite’ from McCann’s and ‘Top it, Dip it, Crush it’ from Jacob’s to brands like Napolina that used their aisle fins to explain what each of their products are great for. 

There were a handful of promotions throughout the store. The standout wasn’t a traditional promotion… it was from Anchor, promoting the fact that they were donated £100,000 to support good causes. Despite it being in a fridge with a door, the vibrant use of red contrasted brilliantly from its usual yellow packaging creating real stand out on shelf.

Tesco ExtraBrislington, Bristol

On arrival, it was clear that Valentine’s Day was on its way with a full aisle dedicated to the occasion and nods to it throughout the store including a clever chocolate placement next to the champagne. Similar to the other stores, there were also glimpses of Ramadan, Lunar New Year, Easter and hangovers from Christmas. 

As a whole, the store has a premium, clean feel. The branding throughout is Tesco led, which gives the stores a cohesive atmosphere with clear, dedicated spaces for brand promotions.

Some brands had opted to sacrifice product space on shelf, using nicely designed shelf talkers to educate customers about their products or to simply promote their products. Educating and supporting customers with their decision making was evident throughout from brands but also from Tesco itself in areas such as the fruit and veg aisle.

Cadbury’s was EVERYWHERE from their creative placement towards the front of the store promoting ‘30% off Merlin Annual Passes when you buy any pack and their confident branded section in the confectionary aisle through to the multiple Creme Egg placements throughout the store. 

Sainsbury’sWinterstoke Road, Bristol

Love is in the air in Sainsbury’s, both for Valentine’s Day and for complimentary products taking up space together – M&Ms and Malteasers, Fanta and Dr Pepper, Cheeze-It and Pringles, Pepsi and Walkers.

In terms of occasion marking, Sainsbury’s appeared to be more up to date than the other retailers, with Valentine’s Day, Lunar New Year and Burns Night featuring throughout the store. There was only 1 Burn’s Night placement, but it was clever, led by Iron Bru and including free Burns Night recipe leaflets to take home.

Throughout the store, we saw a variety of brands flexing their copywriting skills with engaging taste and convenience led phrasing:

Oreo – The Tastiest Oreo Ever Made

Nature Valley – A Softer, Fluffier, Yummier Day

McVites – For Catch Up Crunching

Walkers – Your Evening Deserves Sensations

Pringles – Pop Open a Tube Full of Flavour