John Lewis, a popular UK department store, is merging online and offline sales with a virtual store allowing shoppers to buy products with smartphones via QR codes.

According to Power Retail, the Brighton Waitrose store features a window display where shoppers can scan QR codes to purchase items from the retailer's 'Top 30 Favorite Things for Christmas' list including Lego tosy and the Amazon Kindle.

After scanning a QR code, the shopper is linked to the John Lewis mobile site to make the purchase. Products ordered before 7 p.m. are available for in-store pick up the following day.

"The roll-out of our Click and Collect service to Waitrose shops is proving incredibly popular. This new 24 hour virtual shop in the heart of Brighton takes that convenience to another level," Craig Inglis, marketing director for John Lewis, said in the story.

The retailer also launched an initiative to offer customers free WiFi access in-store to encourage them to shop online and announced plans to target multi-channel shoppers.

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