Real-Future Store is well received by customers

Exactly 100 days after the opening of the Real-Future store in Tönisvorst, North Rhine-Westphalia, the Metro Group and its Real sales line are taking stock. According to this, nine out of ten customers are satisfied or even very satisfied with the supermarket of the future. 94 percent would recommend the hypermarket, where the trading company tests innovative concepts and technologies.

This good result is also reflected in the sales figures. Since the reopening on May 28, 2008, turnover in Tönisvorst has increased continuously. Compared to the previous year’s sales, the increase is now in the double-digit percentage range. A survey by the market research institute ACNielsen on behalf of the Metro Group has shown that customers are very impressed by this new range of products. They therefore chose the comprehensive range of goods in the area at the top of their ratings.

The innovative technologies of the Future Store are also well received. Around two-thirds of consumers who borrowed a device would use the Mobile Shopping Assistant (MEA) – an application for mobile phones that helps customers with their shopping – and would recommend it to their friends. The result in the group of 100 test users who have been testing the MEA since June 2008 is even better: three quarters of them rate the application as very good or good. “The experiences of the test users help us to further improve the MEA,” explains Dr. Gerd Wolfram, Managing Director of MGI Metro Group Information Technology GmbH. Next, wireless payment with mobile phones will be tested. The Metro uses so-called Near Field Communication (NFC), a technology with which data can be transmitted between devices over a short distance.

www.metro-group.de