Huge €3.7 billion transformation set to change supermarkets across Spain

If you shop at Mercadona, your local supermarket could look very different over the next few years. The chain is rolling out a new store format designed to give fresh food more space, change the way products are prepared and make the shopping trip easier — with €3.7 billion being spent on the transformation through 2033.

The first Tienda 9 in Castilla-La Mancha has now opened in Guadalajara after Mercadona spent €2.9 million completely refurbishing its supermarket on Calle Capitán Arenas. The 1,596-square-metre store is the latest example of a redesign that the company plans to introduce across its network. 

A very different Mercadona

The biggest change is not simply how the supermarket looks. Mercadona is moving away from organising stores around individual business sections and towards a system based on processes. The aim is to reduce unnecessary movement for employees while making the layout more straightforward for customers.

Fresh food is at the centre of the new design, the Guadalajara supermarket has a new Obrador Central, bringing together the preparation of fresh products that was previously carried out in different areas. Cutting, cooking and packaging can now take place in one location, freeing up more space on the shop floor for fresh products.  For shoppers, that means the change should be visible in the amount of space dedicated to fresh food rather than simply being something happening behind the scenes.

Your local shop could be next

This is not a one-off refurbishment in Guadalajara. Mercadona plans to roll out Tienda 9 across its supermarket network between 2026 and 2033, with a total investment of €3.7 billion. The company expects to finish 2026 with around 60 Tienda 9 supermarkets operating across Spain.

There is therefore no need for shoppers to live in Guadalajara to notice the change. The new format is being introduced in different parts of Spain, with Valdemoro becoming the first Tienda 9 in the Madrid region earlier this year after a €6 million investment, the rollout will continue over the next seven years.

Less water and energy

The redesign is also intended to change how much energy and water the supermarkets use. Mercadona says the new format can reduce energy consumption by up to 10 per cent and water consumption by up to 40 per cent. The stores use updated refrigeration systems, including Aerofoil technology designed to reduce the amount of cold air escaping from refrigeration units into the aisles.

The company is also using CO₂ as a refrigerant, alongside upgrades to machinery and technical areas.  That means the changes are not limited to what customers see while pushing a trolley around the shop.

There is even somewhere to sit

One of the more noticeable additions is a customer rest area, the new Guadalajara store has 18 chairs where shoppers can sit down, another feature being introduced as part of the new format. It is a small change compared with the further €3.7 billion investment, but it reflects the company’s attempt to adapt stores to changing shopping habits.

The new model also incorporates electronic equipment and collaborative tools intended to help staff manage the supermarket and make decisions more efficiently.

What will actually change for shoppers?

The most obvious difference will be the layout, Mercadona says the new organisation is intended to make it easier for customers to find products and move around the supermarket, while creating more room for fresh produce and other fresh-food products.

The Guadalajara store has 45 employees, while around 200 people worked on its refurbishment alongside 35 construction suppliers. The transformation is therefore much bigger than simply replacing shelves and repainting the walls. Mercadona is effectively testing a new way of running its supermarkets, from how employees prepare food to how refrigeration works and how customers move through the store.

When will the changes reach your Mercadona?

There is no single date for every supermarket, the Tienda 9 programme will be carried out gradually between 2026 and 2033, meaning individual stores will be refurbished at different stages. Mercadona’s current plan is to have around 60 stores operating under the new model by the end of this year, before continuing the wider transformation of its network. 

So if your usual Mercadona still looks exactly the same, that may not last. The Guadalajara opening marks the first Tienda 9 in Castilla-La Mancha, but it is only one part of a much larger change that will eventually affect supermarkets throughout Spain. For regular customers, the result should be straightforward: more space for fresh food, a different layout, new technology, lower resource consumption and, in some stores, somewhere to sit when the shopping is done.