SHOPPING WALL: Shoppers touch NFC tags next to pictures to buy items from Media Markt

Electronics retailer Media Markt has begun testing 'shopping walls' at a Moscow subway station, in partnership with the Moscow Department of Transportation. The concept makes use of both NFC and QR codes and will run until November.

Eighteen columns located across Vystavochnaya station on the Moscow Metro have been decorated with posters designed to look like the shelves of a Media Markt store. The price tag on every product displayed contains an NFC tag and a QR code.

When tapping the NFC tag or scanning a QR code, consumers are redirected to Media Markt's mobile website where they can place an order for a product and choose whether they wish to pick their order up from the nearest store or have it delivered to their home.

Bernd Guralczyk, CEO of Media Markt in Russia, told NFC World: "The orders can be delivered home for free, you pay in cash to the courier in this case, or can be picked up at the nearest Media Markt store, you can pay in cash or by card then. We decided not to develop mobile payment for the pilot. However, if the pilot proves to be successful, we plan to extend the payment possibilities: credit cards, PayPal, even Underground deposit cards.

"The NFC tags do not require any apps, you just have to activate the NFC reader in the settings menu of a smartphone. QR codes are a more well-known technology for customers, but it requires a special QR reader app. There is also an integrated QR reader in the Media Markt apps available for iOS and Android. To ensure customers can enjoy these technologies, free WiFi is also being made available at the station."

Guralczyk continued: "Firstly, NFC is really convenient for the customers. There is no special app needed. Secondly, we wanted to use the latest technologies for this innovative pilot. Our target audience includes top smartphone users that would like to try NFC, but there is a limited number of solutions for them to do so. For Media Markt, this is an interesting experiment and a possibility to offer shopping in a new format to Moscow residents."

A video in Russian shows the service in action: