NHS Guys and St Thomas Social Case Study Vision One

Guy’s And St Thomas Success B2B Research

The Challenge

Across Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital sites in Central London, a wide range of retail offers exist, including national brands, food and beverage outlets, services and in-house catering. However, performance and perception varied between locations.

The challenge was to understand how patients, visitors and staff experienced the retail environment, how footfall moved through each site, and whether the current retail offer met demand. The Trust needed clear, evidence-led insight to inform future retail planning and ensure commercial activity supported wellbeing, convenience and satisfaction across both hospital sites.

Guy's And St Thomas Retail and Social Research Story

Research Objectives

The research was designed to evaluate retail performance within complex hospital environments. The key objectives were to:

  • Understand customer demand for existing retail offers at each hospital site
  • Assess perceptions of range, accessibility and convenience
  • Identify differences in experience between Guy’s and St Thomas’ locations
  • Understand how traffic flow influences retail engagement
  • Capture staff perspectives on retail provision and unmet needs

Together, these objectives aimed to inform future retail strategy and site development decisions.

Research Approach

Vision One implemented a multi-method, behaviour-led research programme. The approach included:

  • Observational shifts across five on-site locations to map traffic flow
  • Exit interviews with patients and visitors
  • Retail boost interviews to capture in-the-moment perceptions
  • An online survey among hospital staff
  • Integration of behavioural, attitudinal and operational insight

This approach ensured a holistic understanding of retail experience across diverse user groups.

Findings

The research revealed clear differences in retail footprint, satisfaction and perception between the two hospital sites. Variations in layout, accessibility and retail mix directly influenced how users experienced each environment.

At Guy’s Hospital in particular, both staff and consumer feedback highlighted gaps in the retail offer. These findings demonstrated that retail success within hospital settings is highly location-specific, shaped by movement patterns, entrance usage and spatial constraints rather than brand presence alone.

Action & Recommendations

The insights identified a clear need to improve the retail offering at Guy’s Hospital. Specific priority areas were highlighted, including the main entrance, corridor areas and the additional entrance opposite London Bridge Station. This provided the Trust with clear, evidence-based guidance to support future retail redevelopment and investment decisions.

Social Market Research Agency
Kendra Furey, Head of Brands (Vision One)

Related Research Services

A2Dominion Customer Case Study Vision One

The Challenge A2Dominion produces an Annual Report to communicate performance, priorities and progress to its residents. However, the organisation wanted to better understand how this report was perceived by different customer groups. The challenge was to move beyond internal assumptions and gain genuine resident feedback on the report’s content, structure, design and digital execution. A2Dominion needed insight into whether the report felt relevant, accessible and representative, and how effectively it communicated the organisation’s purpose and priorities to customers across different tenures. Research Objectives The research was designed to capture resident-led feedback to inform future development of the Annual Report. The key objectives were to: Together, these objectives aimed to ensure the report better reflected resident needs and expectations. Research Approach Given the exploratory nature of the project, Vision One implemented a qualitative research programme. The approach included: This approach ensured insight reflected the diversity of A2Dominion’s customer base. Findings The research provided rich, resident-led insight into what mattered most to A2Dominion customers. Participants highlighted how different elements of the report influenced understanding, trust and emotional response. The findings clarified which content resonated, which areas felt less relevant, and how tone and structure affected accessibility. Importantly, residents emphasised the importance of…

A2Dominion Housing Research Study

Coca Cola Research Case Study

The Challenge Coca-Cola wanted to understand how its products were presented and experienced on the Londis website, and how this digital environment influenced purchasing behaviour. With online grocery journeys becoming increasingly important, the challenge was to assess whether Coca-Cola’s presence supported easy discovery, confidence and conversion. The client needed a detailed, behaviour-led understanding of how shoppers navigated the site, searched for products and responded to imagery, pricing, promotions and descriptions, in order to identify improvements that would optimise the user journey and drive stronger purchase outcomes. Research Objectives The research aimed to build a clear understanding of how shoppers engaged with Coca-Cola products within an online retail environment. The key objectives were to: These objectives were designed to inform improvements to both brand presentation and user experience. Research Approach Vision One employed a mixed-method research approach, combining depth and behavioural observation. The approach included: This methodology provided rich insight into both conscious feedback and unconscious online behaviour. Findings The research revealed clear patterns in how customers searched for and evaluated Coca-Cola products online. Shoppers rarely used the product catalogue, instead favouring the search bar, particularly when supported by predictive text and images. High-quality, clear, three-dimensional imagery with visible pricing was…

Coca Cola B2B Retail Study

The Challenge

Research Findings

Action