At the Shop! 2025 trade show, Aurélie Hébert , Business Development Manager at Nestlé Corporate in France, and Josselin Monnot , Key Account Manager at Retail VR, shared concrete feedback: how 3D has transformed the way Nestlé designs, tests and deploys its trade marketing strategies. An inspiring account of the digitalization of a profession that has long remained anchored in the physical.

From physical reconstruction… to immersive experience

Before 2020, Nestlé had a physical showroom in Noisiel, in which teams recreated life-size shelves. 

The goal: to test merchandising plans and welcome brands into a concrete setting. While this approach had its advantages, it was also very restrictive: costly, time-consuming, and inflexible.

With the move of the headquarters to Issy-les-Moulineaux, an opportunity arose: to completely rethink this approach. 

The traditional showroom is over. Make way for the digital Shopper Center , which is more agile, more cost-effective, and, above all, more impactful. Following a call for tenders, Retail VR's 3D merchandising solution was chosen.

A new tool for the daily life of teams

This new virtual showroom allows you to recreate any retail environment in 3D . Nestlé teams can model departments, furniture, promotional operations, and even entire store environments (Carrefour, Leclerc, Auchan, etc.).

Concretely, this transforms the way Nestlé works both internally and with its customers . Internally, teams rely on the tool to prepare category reviews, train sales forces, and simulate innovation launches. Externally, 3D allows for personalized recommendations, to create real differentiation in customer meetings, and to better engage stakeholders in a shared vision.

“Merchandising can quickly become technical and uninviting. 3D is a game changer: it captures attention, facilitates understanding, and speeds up decision-making.” – Aurélie Hébert

A personalized and immersive experience

One of the solution's major strengths lies in its ability to adapt to the customer's context. Nestlé can thus recreate shelves in a Carrefour, Auchan or Monoprix environment, and even offer augmented reality experiences directly at the point of sale. A department manager skeptical about the feasibility of an operation can instantly visualize the rendering in his own store , at scale, via a simple tablet or smartphone.

This immersion creates a "wow" effect that sets it apart from traditional PowerPoint presentations. It also helps meet the growing demands for customization and branding .

A measurable business impact

The benefits of 3D are not limited to aesthetics. They have a real business impact . Nestlé has seen improved attention capture during meetings, greater adherence to recommendations, and faster decision-making.

A striking example shared during the conference: during a client meeting, the Nestlé team presented two versions of a shelf—the current one (side A) and the new merchandising recommendation (side B). By projecting these two configurations in 3D in a virtual store, the exchanges were much more fluid. As a result, the client approved a test of the new proposition on 15% of its inventory.

Towards new uses: omnichannel, data and consumer experience

The adventure doesn't end there. What Nestlé and Retail VR have built is a foundation that is continually being enriched. 3D modeling, initially designed for merchandising teams, is now used by marketing, sales, trade teams... and soon directly by consumers.

As part of the integration of immersive in-store experiences, NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto collaborated with Retail VR to facilitate the discovery and handling of its new coffee machine, NEO . This innovative machine using fully compostable paper pods, meets growing consumer expectations for sustainability. However, its advanced features, including its connectivity to a mobile app, required an educational approach to explain its benefits.

To address this challenge, a POS display equipped with a QR code was placed near the machine in-store. By scanning this code with their smartphone, customers access an immersive virtual showroom that presents NEO in a realistic home environment, such as a kitchen. This interactive experience allows users to explore the machine's various features through explanatory videos and 3D information points, thus providing an in-depth understanding of the product.

This omnichannel approach meets the expectations of modern consumers, who seek detailed information and an enriched shopping experience, while strengthening commitment to sustainable and technologically advanced solutions.

A reproducible approach, all circuits combined

While the example presented focuses on mass retail, the solution is adaptable to all channels: boutiques, pharmacies, DIY, beauty, and many others. Nestlé has already used this approach in Nespresso boutiques or in discussions around pharmacy distribution.

" We talk a lot about large-scale food distribution, but 3D is a lever that works for any point of sale, regardless of the sector. " – Josselin Monnot

Another strong point: data integration . The Retail VR tool can be connected to internal sources (such as Snowflake at Nestlé) to enrich merchandising plans with concrete indicators : turnover per product, sales volume, stock-out rate, etc. This makes it possible to optimize assortments, simulate business impacts and manage performance at the point of sale.

Conclusion

This testimonial illustrates how 3D can transform very real challenges in commercial deployment and merchandising. By making projects more collaborative, more visual, and more engaging, Nestlé has modernized its practices to better meet the demands of the market and its retailers. This inspiring approach proves that technology, when used well, can accelerate business and transformation.

‍