Ocado has turned on its very first 'shopping wall', designed to let people order groceries by scanning barcodes with their mobile phones.
Built within an empty retail unit at the One New Change shopping centre in central London, the window display went live this morning, according to a report by My Retail Media. Shoppers are now able to download the Ocado smartphone app and then scan the barcode on the display which corresponds to the product they'd like delivered.
The virtual shopping experience in a retail setting represents the first step by the independent online grocer into the bricks and mortar environment. However, being a virtual service and avoiding having a network of stores is one of Ocado's founding principles and so it's unlikely the shopping wall will lead to a chain of Ocado food stores.
Ocado co-founder Jason Gissing said: "The virtual shop window is a bold move for Ocado and something we are very excited about.
"We hope this trial is a hit, and based on its success, we'll be looking at options around continuing this 'virtual window shopping' approach in other locations UK-wide."
