Pancake Day falls on different dates every year, this year it has fallen between Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, giving retailers a quick turnaround on seasonal sections and limited real estate to allocate Pancake Day to. However, retailers used clever placement of these activations to promote impulse purchasing and displayed clear value messaging across their ranges. This article will discuss the activations and social media promotions for Pancake Day 2026.

Visibility of activations

Retailers used a range of display methods to amplify the visibility of Pancake Day products. Utilising free-standing display units (FSDUs), gondola-ends, checkout activations, and digital retail media.

Overall, Pancake Day activations were overshadowed by other seasonal activations such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Ramadan. This meant that Pancake Day held limited real estate in store. But retailers used the limited space wisely, displaying gondola-ends with everything shoppers need to make pancakes including toppings, a good example of this comes from Tesco showcasing the full range of Pancake Day products on a gondola-end with Clubcard and EDLPs.

Waitrose used checkout activations to amplify impulse opportunities, displaying a branded Nutella checkout activation and a generalised Pancake Day activation. These give shoppers a final opportunity to grab something for the occasion before paying and leaving the shop and likely inspire shoppers to grab a few products. This is a great way to take advantage of limited space for activations in-store as Waitrose did not have any dedicated aisle space for the occasion, only FSDUs. This meant that Pancake Day not only found a space in-store but got some premium real estate along the shopper journey, in just the right place to inspire impulse purchasing.

M&S use playful FSDUs

M&S displayed themed FSDUs at the front of the store, One FSDU was named “Flipping Exciting” offering ingredients to make pancakes from scratch and the other FSDUs were named “Flipping Easy” offering pre-made pancake mix and as the title suggests, an easier way to make pancakes. This provides shoppers with the choice to make pancakes from scratch or to use the pancake mix to quickly make pancakes. M&S also offers a range of toppings mostly from M&S’ private label but also includes Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread and Marmite caramel sauce, providing shoppers with plenty of choice for the occasion. These FSDUs were nicely paired with a video posted on Instagram by M&S taking you through the different process of making pancakes, the first taking five minutes used ready made pancakes, the second clip showed using the pancake mix and it taking 10 minutes, and the final clip shows how to make the pancakes from scratch and it taking 20 minutes. This not only pairs with the in-store activation but provides shoppers with assistance on how to go about making the pancakes based on their own preferences.

Cross-merchandising masterclass

Retailers Pancake Day range was uniform across retailers, offering the essentials for pancake making such as flour, sugar, and eggs, with retailers also offering pre-made pancake mix for a quick and easy process of pancake making. As well as the ingredients for pancake making, retailers cross-merchandised with a wide range of topping options. Typical toppings offered include honey, lemon, sugar, Nutella (or chocolate hazelnut spread), Biscoff spread, maple syrup, and peanut butter. Some retailers such as Morrisons and Iceland sold pans alongside the pancake day range to ease the process of shopping for the occasion. Iceland’s themed FSDU displayed a bundle including a pan, lemon juice, and Lyle’s Golden Syrup at a reduced price.

Branded activations

Retailers such as Waitrose and Morrisons used branded activations to promote the occasion. These came in the form of branded FSDUs and checkout displays. Waitrose displayed a Nutella branded fixture on the end of checkouts promoting both the brand and the occasion, providing more impulse opportunity.  Morrisons displayed branded FSDU for Bon Maman offering jars of fruit flavoured conserves, the price of the products was also discounted and used a QR code on the side and top of the FSDU which, when scanned, could win you an instant prize, a Bon Maman branded apron. These branded activations brought much more visibility to the occasion throughout the shopper journey.

Pancake Day promotions

Retailers took the opportunity to improve their value perception over Pancake Day activations, using multi-buy discounts, loyalty discounts, and general price reductions. Iceland offered ‘Buy 2 Get 1 Free’ offers on selected products from a themed FSDU, Waitrose offered savings and EDLPs on branded and private label products from its ‘Essential Waitrose’ label, Morrisons offered price reductions of up to a third off the original price, Tesco used Clubcard offers and EDLPs on products displayed on a themed gondola-end, and Aldi used a digital six sheet at the entrance to the store to promote Pancake Day and its price reduction on certain products.

Social media

Retailers took to social media to promote Pancake Day and their ranges. Tesco posted a video on Instagram rating pancake topping combinations out of 10 in a playful video. Morrisons posted a video on Instagram showcasing all the ingredients needed for making pancakes being picked up in-store. Sainsbury’s posted videos on Instagram detailing recipes and processes to make mouth-watering pancakes. Asda created multiple posts on Instagram one of which engages with users with an image asking users to share their perfect pancake combo, with a section on pancake type, sauce/syrup, toppings, and what plate you would display the pancake on. This kind of interactive post gives users inspiration to head into store and craft their perfect pancake for the occasion. Social media works to amplify visibility of products and having posts specifically promoting Pancake Day only widens the scope of interest around the occasion and can lead to a higher likelihood of shopping in-store.

Pancake Day is a fun and light-hearted occasion, and retailers played into this with bright and playful theming. Retailers took the opportunity to amplify the visibility of certain branded and private label products, and the use of cross-merchandising ingredients, toppings, and pans meant for easy mission shopping. While activations for the occasion pale in comparison to other seasonal events, retailers made sure shoppers were aware of the occasion by strategically placing FSDUs and gondola-ends throughout the shopper journey. Overall, Pancake Day 2026 showcased retailers ability to garner interest in a holiday tightly squeezed in between more renowned seasonal events, and clever ways to implement activations outside of seasonal aisles and without infringing on other seasonal events in-store real estate. Retailers also display their value messaging using promotional offers for the occasion and give a masterclass in cross-merchandising products associated with the occasion, blending cookery products, with ingredients, and sauces and spreads into one section seamlessly.