Large displays of bulky ambient goods from supermarket shelves are set to disappear from our supermarkets in the next few years as home delivery and click and collect services gain greater traction.

Coca-Cola Enterprises MD Simon Baldry claimed the grocery industry was “on the cusp of a technology revolution” as the company published a report with IGD into The Store of the Future. In light of the findings, CCE said it was planning huge structural changes to its supply chain and working with suppliers and retailers to transform the way products were sold in-store.

Store layouts would change far more quickly than predicted because of the growing use of the internet, said the report. The percentage of goods bought online would rise a third by 2016, while retailers would respond to changes in technology and environmental concerns by completely redesigning stores, with the first major changes happening within three years.

All the major supermarkets took part in the study and reported that by 2014 they would be making widespread use of new technology in store, including hologram ads and interactive promotional booths.

The report even suggested floorspace would be opened up to other businesses such as gyms as a way of attracting more shoppers.

“With online retailing growing, we expect a greater proportion of bulky goods to be sold online,” said report author Anne Bordier, IGD director of customised research. “Retailers will have very different ways to use space.”

The report also predicted a race to develop technology that would allow customers to dock smartphones into trolleys, so they could navigate stores and access individualised promotions by communicating with technology on packs and shelves.

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