Supermarket giant Tesco has launched an in-store Virtual Wine Advisor to help customers select their purchases.
The touch-screen service enables shoppers to search for wines by country, colour, style and price.
Customers can also obtain more detailed background information about the product, including food matches and recent press quotes, by scanning the barcode on their selected bottle.
Tesco says the virtual technology system removes the uncertainty around choosing a particular type of wine and gives customers more confidence to try out different products.
Andrew Gale, Tesco’s technical manager, said: “The Virtual Wine Advisor is an exciting new piece of technology. Buying wine is still quite a daunting process for some customers, and this is an easy and inclusive device that customers can simply access.”
“For our more wine-educated customers, the Advisor will allow them to study their chosen wine in more depth.”
The sommelier service is being trialled in the wine aisle of six UK stores. If successful, the service will be rolled out across 150 Tesco supermarkets later this year.
Mr Gale added: “Following the completion of the trial, we aim to develop the Virtual Wine Advisor as a true information resource for all our customers who buy wine both in-store and online.”
