The convergence of the physical and digital worlds is constantly opening up new opportunities for customers. At this point in time, over 80% of French people own a mobile phone. But by 2015, all of them will have a smartphone, more than half of which will be NFC-enabled. The “2.0 customer” interacts with retail outlets more intensively and on a more regular basis. “Shopping anywhere, anytime” is becoming a reality.
Casino Group is taking the initiative and meeting these enormous changes head on. Its goal is to provide an easier, more enjoyable experience by making shopping faster, pleasanter and less taxing thanks to its omnichannel application “mCasino NFC”, developed in partnership with Think&Go. The app ensures personalisation, shopping basket continuity and a seamless experience from A to Z on all sales channels.
The app will be trialled in October in the fully NFC-enabled Casino supermarket in the Belles Feuilles shopping centre located in Paris’s 16th district. Later the same month the trial will be extended to Lyon, through the installation of “NFC order walls” in highly frequented areas (public transport, etc.). Lastly, during the autumn in Paris, the “Casino Digital Wall” will add to the experience in an interactive and entertaining manner.
“Our vision is that, in the future, the mobile phone will be your indispensable partner for shopping in store, while out and about, or from home. And we believe that contactless technology will be among the technologies this revolution will be based on. Embedded in a smartphone, this technology enables the user to move from a totally digital world to a world of interconnection with objects, which gain the capacity to communicate. It’s a world that combines the online and offline worlds. There are dozens of ways in which it can be used, offering customers simple, rapid service,” said Thierry Aouizerate, director of marketing at Casino. “This approach is the continuation of the trail-blazing work started by our company in 2010 with contactless payment trialled in Marseille.”
A full NFC customer experience at the supermarket in the Belles Feuilles shopping centre
From October, customers with NFC-enabled mobile phones using the Belles Feuilles supermarket in Paris’s 16th district are going to live a unique experience, thanks to the “mCasino NFC” application. The app will enable them to do their shopping everywhere in the 25,000-article store more easily, more rapidly and in a more personalised way as they will have access to technical, commercial and educational information about the products on sale.
Casino Group will benefit from feedback on the app’s uses and functions to improve and add to the services on offer.
The ergonomics of the app were defined on the basis of lessons learnt from the experiment carried out at the Institut de la Vision in 2011 in the aim of creating “a design for everyone”, with simple readability and navigation in just a few clicks.
For the past several weeks, a number of Casino employees equipped with NFC-enabled BlackBerry® smartphones have been testing the app. Through the partnership with Inside Secure, Research In Motion (RIM) and Quartz, they have a set of totally new services that demonstrate the wide range and simplicity of the NFC uses, including digital security badges and canteen cards.
1/ Select a product through a simple, intuitive gesture
There is no need to even launch the app. Users simply have to pass it over the NFC tag on the shelf to select a product in less than a second, obtain information (designation, price, etc.) and add it to their shopping basket. For Casino brand products, customers will have information such as the list of ingredients, nutritional analysis, environmental information, films and so on. Eventually, a great deal of information will be available on the entire range.
2/ Access personal information
Customers can also personalise their app settings, in total security and confidentiality, to take into account their own preferences and consumer habits. A customised service can send them personalised alerts. This function will be put in place step by step for all products to ensure the information provided is safe and reliable. Customers can also receive promotions for products that interest them. In addition, the digital loyalty card is included in the mobile phone.
3/ Manage your shopping basket
The simple, functional app lets customers see the cost of the shopping basket in real time and they can decide at any moment to add or remove a product. Customers can also better understand store discounts and see what is available so they can take advantage of them. Discounts are taken off the price of the product in the mobile shopping basket in real time.
4/ Pay at the till more rapidly
When they get to the till, customers show their phone to the NFC terminal. Their purchases are automatically transferred to the till, where they choose how to pay (NFC debit card, cash, etc.) and how to receive their shopping. Their loyalty points are also instantly credited to their account. Before the end of the year, payment direct from the mobile phone without going to a till may also be made possible.
Two new shopping channels to be trialled before the end of the year
The mCasino NFC app is part of a programme of gradual, evolving trials that aim to offer a total omnichannel shopping experience (meaning that, using the same app, consumers can begin filling their shopping basket from home, continue while moving around town and finish off in the store). The mCasino app already enables people to shop from home and new NFC solutions will soon round out the home shopping experience. The trial in the Belles Feuilles Centre supermarket in October will be continued by trying out two new order channels:
– The NFC order wall (QR and bar codes) in Lyon in October
Customers will be able to add to the shopping basket begun in the store or at home while they are travelling around town. Smart posters in the street, at bus shelters or metro stations will display products that can be ordered via an NFC tag, a QR code or a bar code. Customers will also be able to pay for their order and choose to have their shopping delivered or to pick it up at the store.
– The Casino Digital Wall in the autumn
Casino Group also announced the installation of a digital wall developed in association with ADACTIVE. The giant screen turns into an interactive product catalogue when it detects someone in its vicinity. Using a method similar to tactile tablets, customers can select products, build a shopping basket and transfer the basket to their telephone in order to pay discreetly and in total security. With the mCasino app, payment can be made with just one click by taking a photo of the QR code on the screen, and customers also choose how they want their shopping to be delivered.
Click on the link below for a film and screen captures of the trial carried out with Casino Group employees:
Press contacts :
•Casino Group : Frédéric Croccel / 01 53 65 24 39 – fcroccel@groupe-casino.fr
•HighCo Shopper : Karine Perrier / 01 77 75 65 82 – k.perrier@highco.fr
The registered trademarks BlackBerry and RIM, as well as the names, logos and symbols associated with them, are the property of Research In Motion Limited.
1 WIMA USA award in November 2011
* With NFC accessories
