During the 1970s Cippenham echoed the national trend whereby shops moved away from being small, localised independents and were replaced by larger, town centre based chains. Offices, car salesrooms and cafes replaced butchers, grocers and newsagents. However the trend levelled out in the 1980s and there was redevelopment such as that at Elmshott Lane, which included a wide range of shops, e.g. a hairdressers, and a record shop.

There is not much remaining from before 20th century, only listed buildings such as Long Barn, Cippenham Place and Cippenham Lodge. The latter was built in the late 1800s on Cippenham Lane and was once the home of farmer Mr Twinch, hence the name Twinches Lane. In 1989 £1.4m was spent on redevelopment to provide offices and flats, not a petrol station as was first proposed.

Asda started trading in Cippenham in 1988 and on the first day there were between 8-10,000 customers and 450 new jobs were created. The following year saw the retail superstores, MFI, Wickes and Texas on Twinches Lane open.

The motor industry has made its presence in recent years along the Bath Road, such as Citroen UK, Mercedes Benz, Trade Sales and other car manufacturer's dealerships. Another essential industry is Slough Sewage Treatment Works ( known as Chalvey Treacle Mines) with demand increasing according to the number of new homes built.