Originally published on businesstraveller.com 07/08/2012   RSS

Over the next few weeks travellers can use their smartphones to scan virtual 'fridges' at Gatwick’s North Terminal, enabling them to order food for arrival on return from a trip.

The Tesco promotion sees four of the interactive displays and six further digital sites located around the departures area at Gatwick’s North Terminal.

Travellers scroll through the fridges to find desired items from a range of around 80 products “carefully chosen to enable customers to make a full shop”, including milk, eggs, bread, cheese, pasta, sauce, chicken, cereal, fruit and vegetables.

Android and iPhone users then scan the barcode of chosen products (using a pre-downloaded app from the App Store, Google Play or Android Market) and add them to their basket, where they can checkout and book a delivery slot up to three weeks in advance.

The trial is running until August 19, covering the two busiest weeks for the airport, and it follows a similar initiative by the supermarket giant in South Korea last year.

Gatwick recently completed an extension and revamp of its North Terminal, adding check-in desks, new baggage reclaim facilities, 1,177 new short-stay parking spaces, and improvements to the security area (see online news November 18, 2011).

For more information visit gatwickairport.com, tesco.com.

Report by Mark Caswell