A lot of people probably share the same sentiments when it comes to getting groceries, because it was enough to convince one company to launch a completely virtual supermarket, which displays ample products, but does away with the need to carry them around.

A little while back, we mentioned a small virtual shop opened by Tesco/Homeplus in Korea, and apparently the idea has taken off in the country. Another, larger virtual store recently opened in Seoul, where all shoppers have to do is point their phones at the QR code to scan it to put an item into their virtual cart for home delivery.

The store, which is located at the Seoulleung subway station, offers approximately 500 different items on its shelves. The obvious downside is that you can’t check or inspect products as you normally would before putting them in your cart. One of the trade-offs for convenience, I guess.

What do you think?

[via Pop Up City]

What actually surprises me even more is that it’s currently being tested in Kyoto, Japan. It’s part of a wave of new technology helping you do your groceries. It’s part of a form of retail assistance, that uses a network of sensors and wireless devices.

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It’s shown here helping the elderly in doing their grocery rounds. It’s part of a whole process, which starts at home. The user enters their shopping list into a special mobile device. When the shopper arrives at the store, the robot will sense this device and greet the shopper. Then, the robot will help the shopper around the store, carrying the grocery load, and reminding the user of any items that were forgotten. It can also recommend further items. For now, it’s in testing in the Apita-Seikadai supermarket in Kyoto, Japan, until next March.

[via PopSci]

The display includes a fully-functional Atari 2600, along with a wide assortment of about 50 classic games to keep your mind sharp in between the Cap ‘N Crunch and the Mrs. Paul’s Frozen Fish. I especially dig the retro wallpaper and crappy old color TV which complete the kitschy rec room motif.

Koppa’s Farwell Foods is a great example of why we need little neighborhood grocery stores (I’ve heard their Fulbeli Deli makes a mean sandwich too). If you happen to be in the Milwaukee area, check them out at 1940 N. Farwell Ave.

[photos via Flickr and Play in the City]

The Concierge system provides shoppers with a wireless, touchscreen computer which can provide interactive advertising and other content to shoppers. The system can be set up to automatically display relevant products after scanning a bar-coded frequent shopper card. It can also scan products in the cart, letting shoppers keep track of their shopping list and their current cart total. The Concierge can also be set up to allow for self-checkout in your cart, and can be outfitted with a wireless credit/debit card reader to facilitate purchases without waiting in line. Other features include an live product search, store directory and a recipe database.

Each cart runs on an embedded version of Windows CE, with 802.11g WiFi connectivity, 2GB of Flash memory and a 500 MHz MIPS CPU. The Concierge was developed by Springboard, an IT company focused on marketing products and information systems for retail.

[via GeekSugar]