Why instore retail matters in supermarkets
Every supermarket space has potential. But in busy, purpose-driven environments, that potential only becomes value when retail is designed around how customers really move, shop and spend time.
For our clients, instore retail is an opportunity to unlock more value from supermarket space while making each visit better for the customer. A well-positioned café, restaurant or retail experience can give people a reason to pause during their shop, meet before or after it, or return to the store more often. In doing so, it supports stronger customer satisfaction, increased dwell time and greater opportunity to grow average transaction value.
Instore retail does more than fill space. It transforms a functional shopping trip into a more valuable experience, combining convenience, comfort and purpose in one visit. At One Retail, we help our clients turn everyday footfall into moments that deliver measurable impact.
Taste Café at Sainsbury’s
Enhancing the supermarket journey
Taste Café was designed around Sainsbury’s customers and the way they shop. By understanding real customer behaviour, from aisle navigation to shopping missions, we created a café experience that complements the natural flow of the supermarket while also becoming a destination in its own right. Useful, welcoming and easy to access, the space supports the wider grocery journey but also gives customers a reason to meet and enjoy the café as a standalone experience.
The flexible format supports different customer needs throughout the day. For some, it’s a quick coffee or bite to eat on the way in or out. For others, it offers a convenient place to pause during a shop. Beyond this, Taste Café has the warmth and character to give customers a reason to meet for breakfast or lunch, spend time comfortably and return independently. In doing so, it transforms a routine supermarket trip into something more considered, introducing connection and enjoyment into the store environment.
Transforming underutilised space
Many supermarkets have areas that are underperforming or underused. These spaces often hold untapped commercial and experiential value. We reimagine them as purposeful retail environments that bring energy, movement and relevance into the store.
By designing around customer behaviour and what local communities need, we create spaces that feel natural within the supermarket journey while contributing to stronger performance. This gives underused space a clearer role in the customer journey and helps retail become a more commercially valuable part of the supermarket environment.
ASDA cafés
Driving performance across 240 supermarket cafés
Our long-standing partnership with ASDA shows the impact of transforming instore environments at scale. With café performance declining and customer experience varying across the estate, we delivered a full operational transformation across 240 supermarket cafés. Through structured operational management, clearer standards and a consistent focus on customer experience, we helped turn underperforming spaces into a stronger part of the ASDA supermarket journey.
The programme delivered rapid sales improvement, supported profitability and increased customer satisfaction, including a +9% uplift. By aligning service, environment and operational standards, we created café spaces that performed commercially while improving the overall customer experience.
Our approach to supermarket instore environments
Supermarkets aren’t just places to shop. They’re environments that shape how people feel and spend. Our approach starts with understanding that behaviour. We analyse footfall, dwell time, movement patterns and customer intent to identify where retail can add the most value. From there, we design and position experiences around key moments in the journey, so they feel natural, useful and commercially effective.
Shaped by data, insight and real customer need, each space is built to work operationally and at scale. Underused areas become destinations that customers value and clients can measure.
Get in touch
Interested in how One Retail can bring your space to life? Whether you're looking for more information on our services or want to discuss a potential partnership, we'd love to hear from you. Either give us a call on 0121 457 5000 or drop us a message, and we'll get back to you shortly.