Redefining the customer journey for Tesco UK

The brief

As part of Tesco’s Project Reset initiative, we were asked by the retailer’s in-house design team to help develop a new approach to the in-store customer journey, by simplifying it, building in more theatre and amplifying what makes Tesco different.

Project requirements

Having extensively researched the latest pan-European and global store design trends, we developed a new customer communications approach. From the car park, across the external signage and right through the store – including perimeter signage and the customer service desk – our aim was to give Tesco a key point of difference in the UK marketplace.

Our work included advising on Tone of Voice, the material, colour and photography palettes as well as the in-store comms family / heirachy and 3D work. Tesco’s Llansamlet Extra store in Swansea, which was overhauled and reopened in spring 2017 (shown here), was the first store to trial the new approach.

What we delivered

Taking cues from the new generation of continental hypermarkets, we energised the space by using the scale of the structure, utilising the volume at high level. We used materials, such as wood, metal and brick, to create warmth, contrasting this with a bold photography palette and accented colour. Meanwhile, slatted wooden rafts help to define the space and edit the customer journey.

The effect, we believe, is to create something different to the typical big box retail customer experience.

What the press says 

Retail Week’s Stores Editor, John Ryan, made the following comments in his review of the Swansea store:

“What makes it [the bakery area] striking however are the vertically suspended posts that collectively form a plain wood curtain throwing into contrast the signage placed in front of it.

What sets it apart however, is the way in which a very large store has been given a makeover that is consistent throughout.

The store manager said that in the two weeks since the revamp (which took a fortnight to effect), there had been little but praise for what has been done. Small wonder, this is well worth the long trip beyond Cardiff to take a look at.”

And the store featured in Retail Week’s ‘Top of the Shops 2017: The top 25 stores in the UK ranked by design’ ranking, at number 12. It is described as “…simple and highly intuitive signage system that makes the job of finding your way around more straightforward than might initially be imagined.”