Our July Store Watch takes you on a tour of some of the standout in‑store activations we’ve spotted lately. From bold displays to clever on-pack promos and punchy copy, brands are finding fresh ways to grab shoppers’ attention. We also take a look at how retailers are shaping the shopper journey to make a real impact…
WaitroseBristol
Walking into Waitrose, you’re greeted by 2 big, summer ‘world BBQ’ stands with an array of branded products, drinks, vegetables & recipe books. Across the store, the summer campaign continued across all categories. Some with simple product placements, some with more of a collaborative feel such as the Altos Tequila, Cointreau and Lime FSDU with 3D serve – from visiting other stores, the colour way just so happened to compliment Waitrose’s campaign – not sure if that was planned!
It’s evident that Waitrose really considers the shopping missions of their shoppers when planning their store wide campaigns and fixtures. A great example of this is their breakfast end of aisle feature with breakfast essentials – cereal, tea & coffee. To the untrained eye it is unbranded, but the font and creative style used in the header is Kellogs’ new(ish) branding.
San Pellegrino had an impressive stand, bringing aperitivo time to Bristol. Each shelf included the ingredients for a different drink with a POS box explaining the measurements, making it simple for shoppers to pick up what they needed to replicate at home without the faff.
A particular stand out was the on-pack by Wild Turkey which gave away a free jigger smartly packaged at the front with the back design featuring a fan of turkey tail feathers. This worked perfectly in Waitrose, but in other stores where netting is used on bottles, it didn’t achieve the same standout in store.
Sainsbury'sBristol
From big, bold, copy-only FSDUs (see Heinz Beanz) to Gen Z coded swing tags (see Flying Goose’s Sriracha sauces), brands in Sainsbury’s stood out with clever copy and bold, simple designs.
Limited edition flavours from Candy Kittens, Dead Man’s Fingers Rum, Jaffa Cakes and Pringles stood out with creative packaging. We particularly loved how Candy Kittens had fun with their partnership with the iconic UK drag queen, Choriza May featuring her vibrant illustrations. On the flip side, we’re not too sure about hot honey Jaffa Cakes…
The alcohol aisles were all about recipe inspiration. Absolut had a smart set up with compact aisle fins bookending their shelf accompanied by shelf stripping with a QR code for recipes. The seasonal aisle featured a Sainsbury’s ‘Rum Shack’ featuring spirits and mixers with a stand out header and recipe inspiration on the aisle fins.
TescoBristol
Ever come to the end of a big shop and remember that you need to grab a bottle of something as a birthday present for a friend, then have to traipse back over to stationary on the other side of the store to get a card? Well, Tesco have you sorted, you’ll find a Paperchase fixture at the end of the aisle with everything you need – cards, wrapping paper, name tags!
Across the store, there was no shortage of on-pack promos, some leaning into cultural moments such as Lucozade’s promo to meet the Lionesses, some partnering with films such as Nestle with Superman & Batchelor’s with Fantastic Four, and some offering cash and holidays. There was a big push on promotions in the pizza aisle too from Pizza Express and The Pizza Company.
A real creative stand out for us… Who Gives a Crap began life as a subscription/online offering and is now making its way into stores with an impressive, stand out fixture. Their creative packaging lends itself really well to standing out against traditional or own brand loo roll brands.
