MediaMarkt is testing applications in instore-navigation and location-based services for the first time in Germany: In Gründau-Lieblos customers can use their smartphone to be guided precisely to the desired product on the store via app and thus benefit from a faster and easier product search.  

This also reduces the workload for sales staff, who have more time for personal consultations. At the same time, the app supports employees in inventorying and processing picking lists for Click & Collect orders from the online shop. MediaMarkt links a whole range of innovative technologies for implementation: The central element is "Visible Light Communication" (VLC) technology, which is provided by project partner Signify, while the app was developed by Novomind. In addition, the inventory robot Tory from MetraLabs for autonomous mapping and scanning, software from the retailtech hub start-up Qopius and digital price tags from MediaMarkt will be integrated.   

Store-Guide-App leads to the desired product

Buying a new printer cartridge is often easier said than done. The first step is to find the right shelf in the market. And then the cartridge you are looking for hides like a needle in a haystack among many other products. MediaMarkt now makes it much easier for its customers to find the product they are looking for: In the test store in Gründau-Lieblos, they can simply download the new Store Guide app onto their smartphone, search for the desired product and then navigate to it. In addition, the app already provides further detailed information on the products, and individual wish lists can be created and special offers called up.   

Intelligent ceiling luminaires in use

For the pilot project, MediaMarkt is using a light-based technology from Signify, the world market leader for lighting. With Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology, intelligent ceiling luminaires emit a modulated light with identification codes invisible to humans. These light signals are received and read by an app developed by MediaMarktSaturn in collaboration with Novomind via the smartphone's camera. In this way, they enable the precise determination of the customer's location. The app then links this to the location of the product being searched for and guides the customer there. MediaMarkt employees scan the product in advance using a special app, which also links it to the corresponding electronic price tag, so that the app finds the correct position for the product in the store. In this process, the product location is automatically localized by the VLC technology and its coordinate is stored in the store plan of the customer app. In the future, employees will also be supported by the Tory inventory robot.  

Instore-navigation as the basis for many other possible applications

"At MediaMarktSaturn, we are also pressing ahead with the expansion of digital solutions at the POS. In Gründau-Lieblos, we show once again how they can change shopping from scratch. Location-based services in particular offer our customers, us as retailers and thus our employees completely new experiences and added value," explains Sonja Moosburger, Managing Director of MediaMarktSaturn's N3XT innovation unit. "For us, instore-navigation is the basis for many other applications. At the same time, we are further expanding our multichannel strategy by combining the best of the digital and analogue worlds".  

Signify is a partner

"The possibilities of light in retail go far beyond pure lighting. In addition to high-quality shop lighting that offers customers an appealing shopping experience, intelligent lighting also enables them to shop in a personalized, convenient manner. At the same time, it relieves the strain on employees in the store by supporting them, for example, in creating picking lists for online orders," says Kim-Van Blessin, End-User Marketing Manager Signify GmbH. "We are delighted to be working with MediaMarkt in Germany on this exciting project and to support customers in their search for the right product."

Pilot project planned for several months

The pilot project in Gründau-Lieblos is initially scheduled to last several months. In addition to the product search for the customer, further use cases for the store employees will also be tested, such as the creation of inventory or picking lists for online orders, which will be collected from the customer on site in the store. The store management and the head office in Ingolstadt will also receive additional information from the data gained, for example for category management and central planning of sales areas.