Reinventing frozen food retail

Iceland, a familiar high street brand, loved by many but ready for a refresh, asked us to redesign the Clapham Common store. With a brief to develop a more surprising and engaging store experience and communicate the unique benefits of frozen food, we gave it a top to bottom, inside-out makeover.

Brighter, bolder, easier to shop

Every touchpoint in the customer journey was considered from outdoor media to a bold, new fascia. Simpler navigation makes the store easier to shop, while value, quality, education and brand messages are all told with a warmer tone of voice. A brighter colour palette and more inspirational photography are used throughout.

“Sales have doubled compared to a year ago. It’s f***ing amazing!”

Malcolm Walker

Founder and CEO, Iceland – speaking to The Times in December 2016

Bringing firsts to Iceland

Innovative features include a run of digital screens at the front of store (never seen before at Iceland), used to convey rolling promotions which change according to the time of day. Elsewhere there’s excitement for the kids when shopping in the ice cream aisle – open the freezer and there’s music, just like when the ice cream van comes!

“Wow, what a change!”

Sales are on the up and the demographic has shifted as people’s perceptions of frozen food change. The last six months of 2018 showed that nearly 37% of Iceland’s sales came from a more affluent social group compared to 5 years before, when it was less than a third.

The new stores have also been gathering applause from the people who matter most: the customers. Our favourite comment so far? “I’ve been coming to this store for more than 20 years and it’s never looked so good!” Now that’s praise indeed.

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