As Brits prepare to take on the big festive food stores, supermarkets are also preparing to compete for consumers’ money.
Channel 5 documentary A Very M&S Christmas, which aired on Wednesday night, delved into the high-end supermarket’s strategy ahead of December 25 to entice customers to spend in even more stores.
The British retailer has introduced a series of new features to its stores, offering customers a more vibrant shopping experience.
And the results are clearly paying off for the brand. Since the supermarkets switched five years ago, the store’s sales have increased impressively.
Last year, the retailer reported a nearly 10 per cent increase in food sales over the Christmas period.
This is partly due to the retailers’ innovative new ‘food hall’ setup, which is designed to guide customers through the store with fresh visuals and tasty smells, and intentional product placement, all which encourages them to buy more.
The documentary revealed that Brits are “even more eager to spend” this year, suggesting the supermarket could make even bigger profits in this “golden quarter”.
“M&S hopes you’ll visit its stores by reinventing supermarkets as food halls,” the narrator said.
In a new Channel 5 documentary, A Very M&S Christmas, which aired on Wednesday, a psychologist revealed how luxury supermarket M&S has reinvented its design to attract customers to spend even more in stores (file image).
Last year, the retailer reported a nearly 10 per cent increase in food sales over the Christmas period.
“Since 2019, an extensive store refurbishment program has been underway aimed at giving the feel of a fresh, vibrant food market and creating a more enjoyable and experiential way of shopping.”
Retail Gazette group editor Gemma Goldfingle said: “With its new food halls, M&S has defined what a new supermarket should be like.”
“When you walk into the new format stores, it’s not like traditional M&S, you walk in and think, what is this?”
Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, consumer psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University, revealed how supermarkets are aiming to attract customers with their new user-friendly style stores.
“You have the green spaces, you have the fruits, vegetables and flowers to give the representation that they are green.”
The supermarket has added fruit, lemons and flowers to the front of its stores to encourage customers to enjoy the fresh surroundings.
M&S stores have also increased the size of their aisles to offer a better shopping experience.
‘We are used to often passing other shoppers in the narrow aisles of supermarkets. It’s something M&S is determined to change in its stores,” reads the narrator.
Dr Cathrine explained: ‘People don’t like to be bumped into when they go out shopping. That in itself, that interpersonal touch. People will perceive the store negatively if they bump into each other.’
The documentary revealed that Brits are “even more eager to spend” this year, suggesting the supermarket could make even bigger profits in this “golden quarter”.
The new format stores also feature an increase in hot and cold takeaway options.
Several stores now have sushi and pizza counters so hungry shoppers can eat while browsing the aisles.
The supermarket’s brand directors have sought international inspiration for their new food market.
Gemma Goldfingle said: ‘M&S may have taken inspiration from other supermarkets on the continent.
“Especially in France, where fresh food comes in prominently.”
Dr. Cathrine revealed another technique on how stores engage customers through the experiential shopping experience.
‘The reason why flowers are placed at the entrance of a dining room or any point of sale is to give that feeling that it is green and fresh.
“Usually fruits and vegetables follow, which, again, enhances this freshness.”
Another successful technique is the appeal of bakery smells, which Cathrine says encourages customers to buy more.
‘If they’re smart, they should smell like fresh bread. Everyone loves the smell of freshly baked bread and that means they are attracted to it. “It’s almost like a guide through the store, for the consumer,” he said.
And product placement plays an important role too.
The supermarket’s brand directors have sought international inspiration for their new food market
High-end products that are more expensive are stacked high, at eye level, so that they are the first thing that catches the customer’s attention.
Dr Cathrine said: “They put their cheaper products lower down, and this is because when consumers go to the store, they engage in visual search strategies.”
“And the last place you look is the bottom and of course the profit margins are much lower.”
‘The fact that they continue with that kind of green coloring is a very good thing. Whether we like it or not, we think of the color green as something that represents an organic, sustainable and good color for workers.
“So the fact that they’re now aligning it with the dining halls is a great idea because that’s what they’re trying to represent.”