This is cool – virtual shopping via QR code and smartphone

by Scott Bicheno on 23 June 2011, 14:12

Tags: Tesco (LON:TSCO)

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Q jumping

We like a good Tomorrow's World-style story here at mobdevbiz, and thanks to Adverblog we got to see this pioneering bit of work done by Tesco in South Korea.

Tesco, it seems, is the number two grocer in South Korea via its Home Plus brand. It want's to be number one, obviously, but is exploring how to do so using the Internet, rather than building loads of new stores.

It seems that Koreans are a hard-working bunch and spend a lot of time commuting. Tesco and its local creative agency had a look at ways to help Koreans fit their grocery shopping into their busy lifestyle and came up with the bright idea of the Subway Virtual Store.

This involves putting up images of real supermarket shelves where display advertising would normally be. But underneath each item is a QR code, that commuters can scan using OCR technology such as you find in Google Goggles, but embedded in a Tesco app, presumably, which then instantly put the item in their online shopping cart. It's as simple as that.

Of course there are several potential hurdles to be overcome, such as crowding during rush hour and the need to refresh the virtual store regularly, but as an innovative way to solve problems for customers, and this gain business, using smartphones, we think it looks pretty cool.

Here's the summary of the project and a vid.

 

 

 



HEXUS Forums :: 3 Comments

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It all sounds a bit gimmicky to me.

Do I really need to see the items up on a wall / shelf etc, and go around with my phone scanning them in?

Sounds like a waste of time, not a time saver.

Unless I'm missing something here.
HSK
It all sounds a bit gimmicky to me.

Do I really need to see the items up on a wall / shelf etc, and go around with my phone scanning them in?

Sounds like a waste of time, not a time saver.

Unless I'm missing something here.

I think it's because they have made it specifically for the Korean market where smart phones are perhaps a bit more prevalent. I know in my family I'm the only one with a smart phone out of the 4 of us and I don't believe basic phones can do QR codes, can they?

The main problem I can see is that you can't see specific food information, i.e. allergy or ingredient information, unless all of the information is available once the QR code is scanned.

Also you'd have to hope that the pickers get all the right products and don't substitute sold out orange juice for bleach, as I've heard some pretty mad stories of online food shopping here in the UK.
It is good that Tesco are not just sitting on their laurels and constantly investigating changes to their business model. I guess they are after world domination after total UK domination.