Y&R Group Switzerland develops a globally unique app function for Migros

Apr. 07, 2017

Y&R have created a globally unique app, called Discover, for Migros, Switzerland’s biggest retailer. Thanks to augmented reality, Discover transforms every product in the supermarket into a communication channel. 

Migros is the largest retail company in Switzerland. The revolutionary future of shopping starts today with Discover, the new function in the Migros app. Discover identifies over 5,000 Migros supermarket products via smartphone camera from their packaging, and gives users direct access to 2,000 Migusto recipes, 80,000 real-time product ratings on the Migipedia platform and nutritional values and further product information – and in future lots more to boot. At a Migros supermarket, at home or in the Migros magazine – in short, everywhere and always.

Discover uses the smartphone camera to identity unique features on the product packaging and match them with the product database. This approach will in future make QR codes and barcodes for product identification redundant.

As soon as a product has been "discovered", the product name appears on the smartphone screen together with options and information available in connection with the product, such as suitable recipes or ratings.

Discover has a feedback mechanism that enables the user experience to be constantly optimised.

Discover for iOS and Android, as well as the related back-end infrastructure for image editing and sample identification, was implemented by Futurecom interactive (part of Y&R Group Switzerland) using state-of-the-art technology, including Apple’s new programming language Swift and Microsoft’s new open-source framework ASP.NET Core. In addition to this, essential system components function in the cloud.

Alongside the development and implementation of the Discover function, Y&R Group Switzerland is also responsible for accompanying communication measures aimed at introducing Migros customers to Discover. A film has been produced with this aim in mind, as well as advertisements and various online and social media measures.