Hornbach has taken in-store navigation from a single Dutch pilot to every store in the country. According to Retail Optimiser, the DIY retailer spent a year trying the feature in Nijmegen before switching it on across all 18 Dutch locations.
In the Hornbach app, a shopper selects a product, scans a nearby item’s barcode to set a starting point, then follows a digital map to the aisle, the shelf and the shelf level. That barcode step gives the software a known position in the store rather than relying on precise phone-based indoor positioning.
The design is aimed at a familiar DIY problem: customers often know the SKU they need but not where a large store has put it among building materials, tools, fittings, garden goods and small parts. Associates still field “where is this?” questions; software can take on the purely directional ones.
Precision raises the bar on data. Layouts shift with seasons, promotions, pallets and informal restocking. An aisle-level hint can absorb some error; a promise of the exact shelf level cannot. Product-location masters have to be owned, updated and reconciled with the floor. Weak data can make a wrong location more frustrating because the app presents it with more certainty, turning staff into both finders and tech support.
Retail Optimiser says the Nijmegen trial was well received and that some customers cited navigation as a reason to install the app. The same app already covers self-scanning and QR payment, so wayfinding is another reason to use Hornbach’s digital layer on the shop floor.
No public figures have been given for find times, success rates or fewer location questions, so productivity impact remains unquantified. Staff advice on compatibility, installation and projects is a different job from pointing at a bay. Expanding from one test site to 18 stores means Hornbach is now maintaining a live location model across large, changing buildings, not merely proving that a map can draw a route.