The Future Food District that Coop Italia is developing for Expo 2015 (in the photos above and below) was designed to make the shopping experience more pleasant and restocking easier.
Movement sensors will be installed along the Future Food District to project product information on a 20-inch touch screen - origin, processing, characteristics, route, environmental impact, etc. (photo below).
A 17x5 metre wall will show real-time data concerning the most popular products, the number of incoming people, the number of information requested and so on.
But it will not be a cold and detached experience, as tradition will also be a part of it - shelves will be lower and look like those used in old local markets to favour meeting opportunities.
"We like to consider this supermarket an open square with over 1,500 products arranged in five 'streets' corresponding to the five main segments (dairy, coffee and tea, cereal, meat and fish, fresh produce and wine). A lot of information will be available and visitors can ask questions."
The 1,500 products displayed at the Future Food District (all made by Italian suppliers) can 'tell' their own story to visitors.
"The supermarket is not a lab, but a functioning store where people can buy products. Next to it, there will be an Exhibition Area where we will introduce technologies and methods for quality control and preventing fraud, explain examples of future productive processes and welcome 350 school classes.
From Expo 2015 to Coop stores
The Future Food District is more than a model, it is a real supermarket. "This does not mean it can be easily reproduced, but we consider it an experiment to study which solutions clients appreciate the most so we can gradually introduce them in our stores."
Author: Raffaella Quadretti
Copyright: www.freshplaza.it