Tesco has come a long way since they opened their first store in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgeware, Middlesex. Tesco is now a global brand, recognised not only as a leading grocery retailer but also as a company which strategically diversifies into other consumer markets ranging from clothing to telecommunications and financial services.
Tesco have been in South Korea since 1999 where they are partnered with Samsung and operate under the brand Homeplus. Traditionally Tesco has sought to increase market share through expanding their store footprint. In 2008 the company purchased the South Korean Homever chain from Carrefour. While this has been successful, they wanted to expand their presence without opening new stores. Now, 82 years since the first stored opened in the United Kingdom, Tesco has launched a 2D store in a subway in South Korea.
According to research, South Koreans are one of the most hard working people in the world and as a result time poor. Tesco have responded to this insight by launching virtual grocery stores at locations where consumer footfall is high and people are likely to have dead time that could be used for shopping - subway stations.
Tesco have used backlit wall-length billboard posters to replicate the shelves of a traditional supermarket. The posters have product images together with a corresponding QR code (quick response code). The idea being that a commuter can browse the product range and shop by scanning the QR codes with their smart phones. The groceries are added to the basket and the process completed in the same way as typical online shopping - checkout, payment and home delivery.
The results from the campaign have been good so far:
- 10,287 visits by consumers to Homeplus via smart phones
- New registered members rose by 76%
- Online sales increased 130%
- Now no.1 in the online market in South Korea
Tesco commissioned the Seoul office of advertising agency Cheil to plan and engineer the campaign.
Here is an interesting youtube video outlining the approach and results:
This is certainly an innovative approach - making use of smart phone and QR technology and capitalising on the waiting time of time poor shoppers. Not sure how easy to use the virtual stores are in peak commuter times. It would be interesting to see the idea being used in other locations where people can linger longer. It will also be intriguing to see what NFC (Near Field Communications) and the concept of the digital wallet might add to the proposition.
While the use of QR codes is relatively recent in the United Kingdom, they are widely used in Japan and South Korea. I can see the concept working in Japan where kiosk or vending machine shopping is common. But not at the peak times at a Tokyo metro station!
But would the idea work in the United Kingdom?
Last Christmas Waitrose used QR codes in their seasonal advertising. Perhaps if QR codes become more common. It could be used to create an advertising buzz. I can imagine the idea working if a supermarket chain turned a selection of their in-store recipe cards into billboard posters with a QR code. You could be enticed at Waterloo station, scan the QR code and then the ingredients added to your online shopping basket. As a means to do the weekly grocery shop, I suspect the commuting shopper would prefer investment in effective smart phone apps like those Tesco and Ocado have today.