Monthly Store Watch
With it being the day before Good Friday (everyone’s favourite double bank holiday weekend) Easter was a hot topic in the retailers along with seasonal Spring comms, even though the weather was saying otherwise.
Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s were on the cards this month, each offering an array of different shopper opportunities to brands and having different levels of digital presence throughout store.
AsdaCribbs Causeway, Bristol
It was gondola end galore in Asda creating strong brand awareness with eye-catching displays. Dolmio and Silver Spoon had a strong focus on product moments and usage stories. There did appear to be cross pollination between the POS assets and the products on display, although all fitting within the same category.
The McVities digital double bay fixture and digital aisle fins that were spotted in January were still going strong. Walkers had also taken advantage of the digital POS opportunities in ASDA with digital shelf stripping and digital headers.
There were a variety of on pack promotions throughout the store, Cadbury’s winning purple ticket had a strong presence with headers, aisle fins and shippers at different locations in store. Whole Earth and Old El Paso were teeing up to the Olympic games and the summer of sport which we anticipate being a big talking point in stores in due course. However, what was interesting was a common theme of charity partnerships showing brands acknowledging their responsibility, which is becoming a more talked about point when shoppers are choosing brands to purchase.
I also noticed a fun collaboration between Heck and Bisto in a shipper at the end of aisle!
MorrisonsCribbs Causeway, Bristol
At Morrisons, Mentos and Danone were utilising the bollard covers outside of store to capture shoppers attention straight away. But it was all about the floor stickers in store, along with an abundance of communication for the Morrisons More Card and exclusive prices and deals that it offers.
We have recently worked with our client Wilkinson Sword on a Morrisons More Card Exclusive where cardholders can claim a Free Razor. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for our activations in stores communicated across Radio FM, shippers, barkers and hanging flags!
The chocolate and biscuit aisle was the busiest aisle for activity with Cadbury, KitKat and McVities having full single and double bay takeovers. Maryland also had an impressive hanging display, although unfortunately located right next to a structural pillar.
A close second for activity was the pet aisle with Whiskas, Pedigree, Dreamies and Sheba showing creative ways of introducing die cuts to floor stickers and aisle fins.
TescoBradley Stoke
‘Branded mods’ reigned at Tesco that were visible as soon as you walked in the individual aisles, especially for brands with strong brand colour identity across their products too, such as Belvita, Cadbury and PG Tips.
One of my favourite displays had to be Wild. A fully branded bay with aisle fins, a full shelf POS box and branded die cut shelf trays helping to communicate to the shopper what products were located where. It was really eye-catching, visually appealing with strong brand cues and clear USPs of the brand were communicated.
During the retailer visits Tesco was definitely the most dominant retailer in the digital space out of the stores in this visit with many brands choosing to advertise on digital screens and using a range of signage, from headers at top of fixtures to full screens at end of aisle.
Oh, and spot the ‘finish-ing’ error on one of the branded bays … oops!
Sainsbury’sFilton, Bristol
The last stop of the day and it turned out I had probably saved the best till last! There was a huge variety of different and creative POS assets seen throughout the store, with brands really maximising their potential.
Although there was little digital activity in this particular store there were a number of innovative creations on display. From 3D Headers in WOW bays to slim plinths to promotional shippers and branded pallets, it was a spectacle of well executed shopper marketing and great to see lots of activity in the chilled and frozen aisles too compared to other retailers.
A few standouts:
- Bisto, Paxo and Ambrosia had collaborated on a slim plinth at the end of aisle to ‘Create the Ultimate Easter Roast’
- Anchor and Lurpack shared a 3D headerboard
- Ferro Rocher branded half WOW bay
