Founded in 1959, French retail giant Carrefour now spans the globe, operating 10,800 stores in 33 countries.
Always concerned with improving customer satisfaction, Carrefour conducted a research study with shoppers to learn more about their in-store experiences. The study showed that customers wanted to be able to find products more easily. Locating items may not be too much of a problem in a store that carries 200 items, but it can become difficult in a large store that offers thousands of items.
The right system
Carrefour installed a Philips connected lighting system with an LED-based indoor positioning system when it renovated its hypermarket in the Euralille mall in Lille—one of the top ten shopping malls in Europe—in 2015. The system allows customers to find products on promotion throughout the store using a specially designed smartphone app.
“The main benefit for customers for this new application is to provide a shopping list with promotions. And when you arrive in the store you can localize all the products you choose,” Martin said.
Because of its energy efficiency, the LED-based system was a natural fit for Carrefour, which is committed to sustainability. The company has announced its intention to reduce overall energy consumption by 30% and CO2 emissions by 40% by 2020. The Philips systems helps with this goal, reducing energy consumption by 50% over the previous system.
Beyond energy efficiency and excellent illumination, the Philips system offers an innovative new way for Carrefour to deliver superior customer service in its stores. The system is flexible and future-proof, allowing Carrefour to offer additional features in the future as they learn from their experience at Lille.