A sceptical moment... Ocado launches pop-up shop

This morning, my regular e-newsletter update from the Retail Gazette popped into my inbox with the five top retail stories of the day. Number one on the list? 'Ocado opens first virtual store in London'. Apart from the fact that I thought Ocado was already 'virtual' in many senses, being an online-only grocery shopping service, the fact that they opened a store was an interesting move - a change to the entire business model surely?

No. The store isn't 'real'; it's simply a shopping service that enables users to buy products from Ocado using their smart phone, with delivery to their home. An app? Wrong again. The basic principle of the pop-up is:

1. Visit the 'pop-up store' where no products are actually available, only their images
2. Use your smartphone to scan the barcode beneath the picture
3. Add to basket and pay
4. Wait for your goods to be delivered at home

Initally, I quite liked this idea - it's certainly original and quirky and is an innovative way to use a smartphone, however the more I thought about it, the more sceptical I became! If I'm honest, this concept has left me a little baffled and I for one will wait with bated breath to see how well this idea goes!

Surely, the simple appeal of shopping online using a service like Ocado is that you don't have to leave your home to do your shopping, it's convenient and it's delivered at a time to suit you, without the hassle of queues, bright lights and wasted time. The appeal of physically visiting the supermarket is usually convenience; walk in when you've run out of something, walk out with the product. I feel that this new concept is an example of Ocado trying to bridge the gap between the two, but failing to fulfil any of the basic qualities of either shopping habit! The only benefit - avoiding the queues at the checkout!

I do think there will be a small market i.e. those who happen to be walking past at a time when it is convenient to do their shopping but without the means/time to take the shopping home, but surely this is a small minority! Is this new concept really likely to succeed?

I would love to stand corrected on my opinions here and will certainly be watching this one pan out to see how effective this is, but as a consumer myself I feel this one might be increasing the hassle rather than decreasing it!

(Full story available to read here for anyone who wants to: http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/articles/10214-first-virtual-store-from-ocado-opens-in-london)

Comments

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