At Superdrug, data is only valuable if it inspires action. Recognising that stakeholders have different levels of data literacy and limited time, the company has focused on making insights accessible, visual, and engaging. Over the past two years, it has brought this philosophy to life through creative dashboards, innovative frameworks, and storytelling techniques that connect directly with decision-makers.
For this ability to transform information into actionable stories, Superdrug has been named the winner of Best Data Story or Data Visualisation at the 2025 DataIQ Awards.
“This was the strongest entry. It focused on user-led design, embedded across teams, with a clear communications plan and meaningful use of data to drive understanding.” – Judges’ comments
Insights Avenue: Laying the Groundwork
The journey began in 2023 with Insights Avenue, a central portal that brought together internal research, analytics, and external resources in one place. With an AI-powered search engine, staff could ask questions in natural language and instantly receive summarised answers. New employees were introduced to the platform as part of their induction, embedding insight-led thinking from day one.
While the portal provided access, the next step was clarity. With over 100 Tableau dashboards inherited from its parent company, stakeholders were overwhelmed by complexity and inconsistent structures. Superdrug responded by creating its own suite in Power BI, designed around business needs and underpinned by governance to ensure a consistent, user-friendly experience.
Dashboard Central: Visualising the Business
In 2024, Superdrug launched Dashboard Central: a suite of dashboards structured around storytelling. Using a train map design, each business area is represented as a “line” with dashboards as “stations,” allowing users to navigate seamlessly.
Each dashboard is built around the real questions teams ask: Who is our customer? Where are the opportunities? Which promotions drive sales and loyalty? By weaving together customer surveys, first-party data, competitor insights, and segmentation, Dashboard Central gives stakeholders clarity and confidence.
The design and narrative approach proved powerful. After launch, dashboard usage spiked 45%, with 122 active users and a sharp drop in ad hoc data requests. The dashboards were rolled out at major company events and supported by Insights Champions who trained colleagues and gathered feedback. Stakeholders praised the clarity and actionability of the new tools, leading to national rollout across retail teams.
Shopper Missions: Data as a Story
The Shopper Missions initiative represents Superdrug’s most ambitious example of storytelling with data. Using advanced topic modelling, transactional data was segmented into 15 distinct missions, each representing a real customer journey. This was enriched with survey feedback, mapping sentiment across awareness, purchase, and loyalty.
The output developed analysis into a story of how customers shop. To bring it to life, Superdrug used dashboards, infographics, case studies, and even a game show–themed launch event, “Superdrug Sweep.” The approach made complex insights relatable, memorable, and strategically actionable.
Already, Shopper Missions has influenced promotional planning, highlighting seasonal opportunities to combine skincare and makeup, with anticipated sales uplifts.
Storytelling in Action
The judges praised Superdrug’s ability to go beyond dashboards and create stories that resonate with all stakeholders. From Dashboard Central’s intuitive visual design to Shopper Missions’ narrative framework, the company has shown how storytelling turns data into strategy.
By making insights clear, compelling, and connected to business outcomes, Superdrug is a worthy winner of Best Data Story or Data Visualisation at the 2025 DataIQ Awards.
