Magazines Archives - 2011 December

Seoul’s Homeplus supermarket goes underground ‘virtually’
Story 4 - E-commerce

UK retailer Tesco scored a first in South Korea with the opening of the world’s first virtual underground store. Launched in August this year, the Homeplus virtual store, located in the Seoul subway, aims to help the city’s time-pressed commuters shop on the go using their smartphones, said Tesco.

‘Live’ virtual displays of more than 500 of the most popular Homeplus products are plastered on the walls of the Seonreung subway station in downtown Seoul. The Homeplus products come with barcodes which customers can scan using the Homeplus app on their smartphones.

The concept allows busy urban consumers to scan their groceries on their way to work in the morning. Orders that are placed before 1pm are delivered to their doorsteps the same evening at a selected time.

Commenting on the Seoul subway virtual store, DW Seol, executive vice-president of Corporate Affairs at Tesco Homeplus, said: “We are always looking to make the shopping experience easier and more convenient for our customers and the introduction of the virtual store is a great achievement.

“This is a real triumph for the Korean retail industry as it continues to be at the forefront of technological innovation.”

The displays include different daily items ranging from milk to apples, pet food and stationery. ra

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