French supermarket group Casino and British retail giants Tesco and Burberry are getting digitally innovative.

NFC Casino in Paris and Lyon this October

Using a mobile application and NFC contactless technology

Casino group is introducing connected stores into its retail chain to ensure a more streamlined, mobile shopping experience.

It will begin with one outlet in Paris which will be used as a «digital laboratory» for the chain where shoppers can scan goods with their smartphones as they currently do with barcode scanners at self-checkout systems, and then pay via an m-payment solution.

The French group will then roll out connected posters across Paris and Lyon, in busy areas such as public transport hubs. Consumers can scan the picture of the products they want on the posters and then either pick them up from a store or have them delivered.

A third digital experiment will involve setting up an interactive digital wall, like an e-commerce website but in the form of a huge touch screen that can be accessed from a public place.

The mCasino mobile application will be used both at stores in Paris and on its future shopping walls

Immersive technology for supermarket chain Tesco: the 3D virtual store

Another shining example of the retail sector going digital is UK supermarket chain Tesco. Founded in London in 1919, Tesco has stores in 14 countries in Europe, North America and Asia which are visited by some 10 million customers a week. The chain has had a web site and e-commerce mobile application for a long time, but more recently set up a digital shopping wall in an underground station in Seoul, South Korea. It now plans to take the digital shopping experience one step further, by projecting a 3D virtual store via a connected TV using Microsoft’s Kinect technology. Customers can thus browse the virtual aisles and shop from the comfort of their own living room.

Burberry: a balance of tradition and the digital age

Since 1856, Burberry has epitomised British chic with its trademark tartan trench coats, umbrellas and hats. The fashion has also been the official supplier of HRM the Queen since 1955 and Prince Charles since 1989.

Yet with its brand image waning and sales dwindling in recent years, Burberry has been targeting a younger market via an innovative «in and out store» digital strategy and a flagship digital store in London’s Regent Street that has been causing quite a stir on social networks: a buzz on Twitter before a sneak preview of the brand’s new collection and 3D holograph fashion shows officially launched Burberry into the digital era. The store now features live broadcasts of fashion shows on giant screens, and shoppers can order models directly from sales staff with mobile e-payment solutions on iPads, smartphones or interactive screens which can also be used as mirrors, and customise their  trench coat using a mobile iPad  app. RFID chips have also been attached to certain clothes and accessories so that when a customer approaches one of the screens in the common areas or in a fitting room, specific content, such as information about a bag’s stitching and craftsmanship, or a video showing how a skirt was worn on the catwalk — will appear.  According to Burberry executives, they are «blurring» the line between the physical and digital. Find out more about Burberry’s flagship digital store

Further reading

Are new technologies changing the way we shop? An e-media article