Virtual Grocery Kiosks

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U.K. retailer Tesco is piloting the first UK interactive virtual grocery shopping store.   The kiosks have been deployed in London's Gatwick North Terminal at the Airport.
 
The idea is to target holiday makers who realize that their refrigerator at home is either missing something or contains something that will have expired by the time they get back home.
 
The Gatwick virtual grocery store is basically a large digital signage kiosk, a "virtual fridge," on which shoppers can browse through a range of everyday products to buy, selecting items via smartphone
 
Passengers in the airport's departure area are able to use the interactive grocery kiosks to shop via a video screen by scanning it with their smartphone and have the products waiting for them when they get home.
 
Travelers begin by scrolling through the "moving" screens — touch interactive digital displays on which they can slide from screen to screen by hand — on the virtual fridges. By scanning the barcodes with their smartphones they can add their chosen products to their online baskets, book a home delivery time slot and check out. Their shopping will then be delivered when they return from their trip.
 
There are four interactive fridges in the virtual store pilot and six digital sites positioned around the departure lounge for passengers to use. The kiosks feature around 80 products, chosen to enable customers to make a full shop for staples (milk, eggs, bread, cheese, pasta, sauce, chicken, cereal, fruit, vegetables, etc.), according to Tesco.
 
To use the digital displays, customers first have to download the Tesco app from the App Store, Google Play or Android Market to scan products using their smartphone, and to register with Tesco.com.
 
Tesco said the facility builds on its launch of a virtual store in Seoul, South Korea, last year, which allowed commuters to shop in subways and at bus stops by pointing their mobile phones at billboards.
 
Tesco's Internet Retailing Director, Ken Towle, said "Our business in Korea is teaching us a lot about how customers and technology are transforming shopping. It gives us a unique window into the future and the chance to try out exciting new concepts,"