An international supermarket giant has introduced virtual goods to subway commuters in South Korea, eliminating the need for a physical store. Supermarket chain Home Plus has plastered a subway station with facsimiles of groceries, labelled with a unique code for each product. The commuters can pass by on their way to work, they can use a mobile phone app to take pictures of the products they want, then check out. The groceries are automatically delivered to their doorstep by the end of the work day.
This virtual grocery store has been a massive hit, reporting a 130 percent increase in on-line sales. However this experiment is just one of the increasingly innovative ways mobile devices are being used in retail. Smartphones are clearly a new horizon where special offers will be advertised, as is the case in the United States. Whether or not virtual markets catch on, some experts believe radical changes in shopping are right around the corner.
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