Coindesk Logo

Retail Giant Carrefour Saw Sales Boost From Blockchain Tracking

Retail Giant Carrefour Saw Sales Boost From Blockchain Tracking

Retail Giant Carrefour Saw Sales Boost From Blockchain Tracking

Supermarket chain Carrefour has reportedly attributed a recent increase in sales to its use of blockchain tracking for food products.

Supermarket chain Carrefour has reportedly attributed a recent increase in sales to its use of blockchain tracking for food products.

Supermarket chain Carrefour has reportedly attributed a recent increase in sales to its use of blockchain tracking for food products.

AccessTimeIconJun 4, 2019, 12:30 PM
Updated Aug 18, 2021, 11:31 PM

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

French retail giant Carrefour has attributed a recent increase in sales to its use of blockchain tracking.

Carrefour's blockchain project manager Emmanuel Delerm told Reuters on Monday that the use of blockchain ledger technology to track meat, milk and fruit from farm to supermarket has increased sales of these products.

According to Delerm, blockchain tracking has been particularly successful in China, where shoppers are more used to scanning QR codes. The initiative likewise proved to be popular in Italy and France, where buyers reportedly spend as long as 90 seconds reading merchandise information.

With the firm's blockchain tracking – built with IBM Blockchain – customers can scan a QR barcode on a product with their phone and obtain information such as its date of harvest, farm location and owner, packing date, how long it was transported, and tips on how to prepare it.

“The pomelo [a citrus fruit] sold faster than the year before due to blockchain. We had a positive impact on the chicken versus the non-blockchain chicken,” Delerm said.

Carrefour initially launched blockchain information for 20 items, including chicken, eggs, raw milk, oranges, pork, and cheese, according to the report. Now, the retailer intends to add 100 more products to the system, particularly focusing on products for which consumers want reassurance, such as baby and organic products.

The tech creates a "halo effect," meaning if shoppers feel they can trust one Carrefour product, they will also trust other items, Delerm said.

There are still challenges to blockchain tracking however – particularly in tracking fruit and vegetables sold loose and sourced from a number of farms. There is also some resistance from farmers to sharing too much information, according Delerm.

Carrefour is also working with Nestle, allowing the Swiss food and drinks giant access to its blockchain data for its Mousline potato puree so buyers can see that the produce is sourced from French farms

Carrefour image via Shutterstock

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.