Video: Ocado launches interactive Window Shopping experience
Share
Ocado is the first supermarket in the UK to launch a “virtual store” and hopes its “Window Shopping” pop-up will get people exited about using its mobile app on the move. Marketing Week went along to try it out - check out our video report.
It is also the first time the online only grocer has had a presence on the high street and could mark a new direction for the grocer.
Ocado’s marketing director Matt Knight says any future initiatives will depend on how people react to the London trial.
“We are a company that prides itself on innovation. This is a way of demonstrating this and showcasing Ocado’s mobile platforms but it’s a trial and the main objective is to get people excited about our mobile platforms and remind them that it’s something they can use on the move, not just at home at their computer,” he says.
“It’s a way of making Ocado physical in an unusual eye catching way. We want to be led by our customers and how they feel about it and will look in to other ways of using it.”
Readers' comments (8)
Anonymous | Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:23 am
It's like a crap version of Tesco's version in Korea.
I don't think it will take off if the 'virtual store' is on the high street. Why buy more expensive products by scanning it when you can go to Tescos or Sainsburys and buy it for cheaper, take the product home and not have to spend more than £70?
I'd understand it if the 'virtual store' was on the underground or plastered on the inside of buses or somewhere where people can make use of their time more efficiently.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Richard A. Farrimond | Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:54 am
Do they supply yellow pages for small people to reach the top barcodes?
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:20 am
'We are a company that prides itself on innovation...'
They copied Tesco in Korea.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Rufus Bazley | Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:58 am
This is a prime example of a company copying something they've seen (this was done in Japan recently) and then badly executed.
This type of thing i believe shows signs of a company being desperate and messing up more in the process #stupid
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | Fri, 26 Aug 2011 1:25 pm
This is another example of a company's marketing department being completely unaligned to the main business.
Anyone who uses Ocado knows their website has issues - in particular their search is wholly inadequate. You can find more on their site through Google than you can their own search engine.
Now you have the marketing department with this gimmick suggesting people go to London to a physical shop to be able to add things to their weekly shopping basket.
They need to nail their core proposition first before this sort of thing.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:15 am
One major problem is that there's no way of knowing where items will be. The Tesco version in South Korea mimicked the actual shelf lay-out - judging by the footage, the placement here is totally random.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
digital robot gorilla | Tue, 30 Aug 2011 4:29 pm
I think this is a great idea from a marketing perspective, its aimed at existing customers. It take less space than a real store, ideal for places like London where retails space comes at a premium. When the customer is walking past its one of those, "Oh yeah I need one of them." moments. Scan barcode and off you go.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
rosie baker | Tue, 30 Aug 2011 6:49 pm
Anonymous 3, I don't think that Ocado is suggesting people travel to London to visit a pop-up shop to try out the app, it's an activity to get people thinking about how they can use the Ocado app out and about. It's not a perfect venture, I'd hoped it would be a bit more slick and 'techie' but it's a trial of a concept. I'm interested to see how Ocado, and other online retailers, can learn from it and people's response to it. Taking something online offline isn't easy or even necessary, but it some brands shouldn't give it a go.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment