The Coop chain is about to break through with a novelty in the Czech Republic. From February, customers will be able to shop at the store in Strakonice in South Bohemia at any time outside the store’s opening hours. You will need a bank identity and special applications. Each visitor will be clearly identified, the store will also provide a camera system. During the year, the chain wants to implement this concept in other cities.
“The concept of an automatic store is maximally adapted to the needs of customers for whom the need to plan their purchases according to the opening hours of stores ends,” says Development and Marketing Director Lukáš Němčík about the planned opening of the store. The chain was inspired by the concept in Scandinavia, where similar stores have been operating for several years.
Outside the standard opening hours, the entire store will be available, only counters with delicacies or cold cuts will be closed. However, the store will have an expanded offer of packaged goods.
The payment for the goods itself will work on the principle of self-service cash registers. The customer will not be able to leave the store with the purchase until the payment has been verified. If he gets into trouble, he can use the emergency button within the central security desk.
However, the seller did not specify how good he was to prevent petty theft and abuse of the system. He drew attention only to the installed cameras and the need to prove the customer’s identity at the entrance.
Coop expects the greatest success with these stores in small and medium-sized cities, where there are enough customers, but the standard opening hours of the stores are not enough for them. Many Coop stores in these cities close around 6 p.m. or earlier. According to the company’s management, customers in Kaplice, South Bohemia, for example, will experience a similar deal.
From the new concept, Coop promises higher sales while reducing staff costs. According to Němčík, the costs of transforming one store are around one million crowns.
The chain has previously introduced self-service food cooling boxes in the Czech Republic. The principle is the same as in the case of dispensing boxes – the customer can order the goods via the Internet and then pick it up at any time. The boxes are intended to help smaller municipalities with poorer access to retail services.
According to experts, the penetration of digital devices into the retail sector is currently becoming an increasing trend, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. It should bring customers greater efficiency and comfort, and lower costs for businesses.
“It is simple to imagine that in the future, only what requires it will be left for physical interaction,” said Cyrrus analyst Vít Hradil.
– .
