A Look at South Korea’s Virtual Supermarkets

Home plus is a South Korean/British discount retail chain with locations that usually feature a large supermarket. The chain’s latest initiative, a Virtual Supermarket implemented on Subway systems in populated areas, works to streamline the average citizen’s daily routine through the use of QR-code labeled advertising and smart phones.

In terms of size, Home plus is the second largest retailer in South Korea, and had recently been faced with its major competitor, E-mart, who has the upper hand in sheer number of locations throughout the region. Citing that Koreans were the second-hardest working group of people in the world, Home plus has setup display advertising in subway waiting zones that allow the general population to put in their grocery orders during the workday, and have them delivered to their doorstep by the time they get off work.

Most interesting in the entire process presented by Homeplus’ new Subway Virtual Store is the resulting re-imagining of a tangible shopping experience, in the midst of an increasingly expedited mobile society. The setup of the advertising mocks the aisles of the supermarket, but brings it to the end user, instead of waiting for the customer.

The result — changing waiting time, to shopping time.

More content

CultureProducts
BTS’ Jin’s Limited-Edition ‘Jin Ramen’ Drops & Instantly Sells Out Nationwide
Korean food brand Otoki looks to expand their influence into the global market by collaborating with the one and only Mr. Worldwide Handsome — BTS…
,
CultureProducts
PepsiCo Reportedly Nearing $1.5 Billion Deal To Acquire Prebiotic Soda Brand Poppi
PepsiCo is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Poppi, the buzzy prebiotic soda brand, in a deal worth over $1.5 billion, according to Bloomberg News…
,
Products
Funyuns Reveals Limited-Edition ‘Sour Cream & Funyuns’ Flavor This Month
Why do I like Funyuns? I like them because they’re fun, ring-shaped snacks that resemble fried onion rings (which are one of my favorites). Plus,…
,
Burger
We Deliver!

Enter your email address below and we'll deliver our top stories straight to your inbox