Future Store Technologies and Their Impact on Grocery Retailing

Around 2002, as a participant of MIT’s Auto-ID center, the METRO Group saw the need to test, prove, observe and experience the acceptance of RFID and other new technologies in a real-life environment. The objective was to find solutions entailing real advantages for both the retail industry and the consumers. In the short run, the focus was on technologies that can increase the effectiveness of logistic processes and make shopping easier and more convenient. Longer run objectives include setting standards for retailing that can scale on an international basis.