September 23, 2013
The mobile network operator Vodafone is tapping staff members at its German headquarters in Dusseldorf to test out an NFC-equipped virtual shopping wall, according to an article on nfcworld.com.
To use the service, shoppers must first download the grocery retailer Emmas Enkel's mobile app. Once ready to shop, they scan QR codes on the virtual products they wish to purchase. When they have finished scanning items they are directed to the retailer's website where the scanned products are placed into an online shopping basket, according to the article.
Traditional payment can be made via debit or credit card, either online, to the delivery person dropping off the order, or at a store location when picking up the items themselves. Shoppers also have an option for mobile payment by using Vodafone's SmartPass app to pay with NFC, either via an Ingenico self-checkout terminal located beside the shopping wall or at Visa Paywave terminals located in the retailer's stores, the article reported.
"We are combining the traditional grocery store with the online store," Benjamin Bruser, CTO and founder of Emmas Enkel, said in the NFC World article. "We invented the idea and we developed the Virtual Shelf in partnership with Vodafone, who supplied the LED screens for the display and helped us in making our idea become a reality."
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