Fresh Thyme deploys scannable QR codes at the shelf

Fresh Thyme Market is getting smarter at the shelf, adding scannable tech at the shelf for shoppers to unlock more information about its own brands on shelves and branded natural products it carries.

The food retailer said it aims to enrich the Natural Living shopper's experience by adding IX-ONE enabled ELI Codes to shelf tags that will enable customers and employees to access rich product content by scanning a QR code with their smartphones.

Deployment of the technology is scheduled for the beginning of November. The retailer is also underway on a rebranding initiative.

ELI Codes, when scanned by a smartphone, will display important product information including content from the IX-ONE product data and image exchange to enhance the overall shopping experience, the food retailer said. ELI Codes are based on QR code technology and can be read natively by most modern smartphones without requiring an app.

ELI Codes were introduced to the Natural Product Channel in partnership with The Data Council (IX-ONE) by Cornerstone for Natural, the industry's premier provider of Business Management Software solutions.

Fresh Thyme's suppliers are requested to work directly with Cornerstone for Natural to enhance the content displayed by upgrading their ELI Codes to include videos, PDF files, images, URL links, and more.

"By adding ELI Codes to our shelf tags, we will be helping our shoppers make better informed buying decisions in-store while allowing our supplier partners to provide digital content to best present their products to our shoppers," said Jonathan Lawrence, Fresh Thyme's senior director of grocery and natural living.

In addition to enhancing the overall in-store shopping experience, Fresh Thyme's staff will use these ELI Codes to learn more about the products they sell and better explain those products and their benefits to their shoppers.

"We are excited to see Fresh Thyme leading the charge to enhance the in-store shopper experience at retail," said David Williams, Cornerstone's EVP of business development. "Fresh Thyme is providing an online-type shopping experience in-store! This is a game changer."

Downers Grove, Ill.-based Fresh Thyme Farmers Market operates approximately 75 stores in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.