SeaFood Business

DEC 2012

SeaFood Business is the global trusted authority for seafood buyers and sellers. We are the seafood industry's leading trade magazine with more than 30 years of experience. Our coverage is based on the "business" of buying and selling seafood.

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Global Retail Retailers hope to use QR codes to engage customers throughout their stores. and retailers are mostly using QR codes as an educational tool, says Melissa Spiro, fish buyer with Waitrose. She says, however, that recent consumer behavior research has also found that more and more customers are us- ing smartphone technology to check prices in the aisles. While this has focused on higher-value items, she be- lieves it won't be long before it moves down to lower val- ue, day-to-day products. "At Waitrose we have Smart shopping Q Mobile technology starts to ring change in European stores BY JASON HOLLAND uick Response (QR) codes have been around for nearly 20 years, invented in Japan by a Toyota subsidiary to quickly track vehicle com- ponents during the manu- facturing process. Today, in line with the huge popularity of smartphones and tablets with code-scanning applica- tions, it's supermarkets that are the most excited by what the two-dimensional black and white barcodes can do for business. Te general perception among European retailers is that new mobile tech- nologies, with QR codes as the initial pacesetter, will increasingly make shop- ping not only easier for con- sumers, but create lucrative opportunities to engage with them. QR codes are being used on two levels: firstly, on print advertisements, where upon scanning a code using a QR decoder the consum- er is directly linked to the product, a coupon or loyalty offer or some other form of exclusive content; second- ly, on product packaging to provide details on such things as provenance as well as preparation techniques. However, there are several other, more tailored ways in which QR codes enter the retail arena. For example, 36 SeaFood Business December 2012 device to scan their chosen products' barcodes, and the app progressively tracks the amount spent, producing an end QR code on the phone's display that can be scanned at the register to pay. For the time being, brands 40 percent were conducted in-store and 60 percent were at home. "Inspiration, recipes and cooking-tip videos were the most popular choices [of con- tent] at home. We are cur- rently reviewing the results Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com Sainsbury's is currently trial- ing its own "Mobile Scan & Go" at two of its larger U.K. stores, whereby customers "check in" by scanning a QR code located at the stores' en- trance. Tey then use their started using QR codes to get across our standards and sourcing policies to custom- ers," she says. "So we feel there's a real opportunity to connect them with the seafood category through this technology." Starting in July, the retail chain introduced QR codes across its store-brand pork range as a means of high- lighting its commitment to higher pig welfare standards and showcasing the farmers responsible for rearing them, as well as sharing recipes and cooking tips. It was the first time the retailer had used QR codes directly on its products. Spiro says over a one- month period, Waitrose counted 11,000 scans on its pork products, of which "QR codes can do a whole range of things: They can tell the story of where the fish has come from; which boat caught it; how to cook it." — David Mainon, senior technical manager for meat, poultry and seafood, Asda Photo courtesy of Sainsbury's

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