Sainsbury’s opened a 60,000 sq ft store in Welwyn Garden City on Wednesday last week that is intended to provide the retailer with a blueprint for the future.

Known internally as a “milestone” store, the branch aims to provide shoppers with greater clarity and ease of navigation. It also features a “living wall” on its exterior and higher levels of natural daylight than in a standard store.

The grocer opened a 100,000 sq ft “milestone” store in Ashford, Kent, on the same day last week, with three more set to follow, in Marlow, Sevenoaks and Manchester before the end of the month.