Supermarket trials virtual store at Gatwick airport

This month, UK supermarket giant Tesco (Cheshunt, UK) opened the UK's first interactive virtual grocery store in Gatwick Airport’s north terminal in London.

The virtual store was open for business in the airport's north terminal departure lounge during the two busiest weeks of the year, from August 6-19.

The Gatwick opening builds on Tesco's launch of the world's first virtual store in South Korea last year. The Korean virtual store allowed commuters to shop in subways and at bus stops by pointing their mobile phones at billboards. Tesco trialed the concept for the first time in the UK, but used interactive digital displays instead.

The Gatwick virtual store enabled passengers passing through the terminal to view a range of products by scrolling through the moving screens on large virtual fridges. By scanning the barcodes on the screens with their smart phones they could add their chosen products to their online baskets, book a home delivery slot and checkout.

To shop in the virtual store, customers had to download the Tesco app from the App Store, Google Play or Android Market onto their smart phones.

-- Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design