Retailer embraces mobile commerce

HomeShop18, a leading online and on-air retail venture in India, has partnered with the Delhi International Airport to introduce its latest initiative, called the Virtual Shopping Wall. Virtual shopping has become a breakout phenomenon in the retail world. With the number of consumers with mobile devices on the rise, retailers have had to find new ways to engage these people. Because mobile consumers are always on the go, a virtual store  could be the ideal way to engage consumers in mobile commerce wherever they are.

Virtual Shopping Wall now open at the Delhi International Airport

The Virtual Shopping Wall has been installed in the Delhi International Airport and features products offered by HomeShop18. The retailer believes that mobile commerce has become a major hit in India and elsewhere. Consumers have shown a great interest in using their mobile devices to shop for and purchase products that they like and HomeShop18 is working to position itself to take advantage of this growing trend.

QR codes used to sell products

Anyone with a smart phone or tablet can make use of the Virtual Shopping Wall. All of the products associated with the virtual store feature their own QR codes. When these codes are scanned with a mobile device, these codes direct consumers to a mobile website where they can purchase the products linked to the QR codes. The codes have long been a powerful marketing tool, but have recently become more prominent in mobile commerce throughout the world. QR codes are quickly establishing themselves as ideal tools for virtual stores and have been used in such initiatives in the past by other retail companies.

Retailer takes steps to ensure mobile commerce is enjoyed by all

HomeShop18 is not simply following a trend it has seen emerge in the retail industry. The retailer has invested heavily in the research and development of its mobile commerce pursuits. Other companies that have taken steps to incorporate mobile commerce services have experienced some complications in their endeavors. HomeShop18 is keen to avoid the pitfalls associated with mobile commerce and has been working to ensure that it can provide the best possible experience for consumers through its Virtual Shopping Wall.

Mobile commerce toy and grocery shops are becoming especially successful.

Stores and shopping malls made out of images and QR codes are becoming the next big thing in the trend toward virtual shops and mobile commerce as a whole, as they seem to be popping up in a growing number of cities.

Companies are seeing the chance for profit in stores with nearly no space required and no physical merchandise.q

Instead, they are made up of poster displays of the products that are available, and QR codes that are associated with them and that can be scanned with smartphones in order to make a purchase. The entire mobile commerce experience is simply a digital version of shopping in a real store. The consumer simply needs to have a look at the items that he or she would like to purchase, scan to add them to a virtual shopping cart, and then complete the purchase by checking out.

Scanning the virtual store QR codes can be accomplished with any free or paid scanner app.

Once the items have been purchased, they will be delivered to the consumer’s home within a matter of hours or days, depending on the product and the virtual store’s policies. This trend got started in 2009, and since that time they have been spreading quickly all around the world. They have been found in many locations in the United States, Canada, Korea, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Ireland, Argentina, Chile, and others.

Singapore and Toronto, Canada have been the locations with some of the most common locations for these QR code shopping malls to appear. The most common have been for grocery and toy stores, but others have also made their mark. In Toronto, for example, Well.ca had a massive virtual store in April 2012 at Union Station, the city’s largest commuter train subway station which sees over 200,000 commuters every day. According to Well.ca, this was a tremendous success and it considerably increased the sales that they experienced from the displays as well as from the virtual store through its advertising effect.

Now, Walmart and Mattel will be headed to the same location to create a virtual toy store based on QR codes in the hopes of being equally as successful.