The Coop retail chain opened the first self-service store planned in the Czech Republic this week, in Podskalská Street in Strakonice. Customers can shop there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To enter outside the opening hours, when no staff is already present at the store, they need a special application with a link to the bank identity.
“We want these stores to be for everyone. Of course, the store will continue to be staffed within standard opening hours, but outside this time it will operate in automatic mode,” confirms Coop Network Development and Marketing Director Lukáš Němčík.
The Strakonice store underwent a complete reconstruction and the range had to be partially adapted to the new way of sale – within this, for example, the offer of chilled fresh goods is strengthened. On the contrary, the counters with delicacies and sausages will be closed for the night, which will be replaced by the offer of packaged goods.
The Coop system in the Czech Republic has been taken over from sister cooperatives in Scandinavia, where a similar type of store has been operating for many years. According to Němčík, customers are changing and it is therefore necessary to adapt to them.
“We think that in small and medium-sized cities, the concept of automated stores has the greatest potential due to the changing structure of customers, most of whom require the most flexible services. on the edges, which are often accessible only by car, “describes Němčík.
How to self-purchase in practice
To enter after the closing time, the customer needs a special application that will generate a unique QR code each time he logs in through the bank identity, which will allow him to enter the store.
“Thanks to this system, every visitor to the store will be uniquely identified, so there is no problem, for example, if they buy more than one customer at a time.
The customer scans the goods, payment for the purchase is made at self-service checkouts.
To prevent the chain from being stolen, the entire store area is supervised by a camera system connected to the central security desk. According to the company, he can solve even when a customer gets into trouble. In this case, it can also use an emergency button or connection to remote security.
According to Coop, it is not yet clear how the Czech customer will accept the new sales system. The chain has previously started to provide the service of refrigerated dispensers in smaller municipalities, now it is also expanding the number of stores connected to the e-shop and testing food delivery.
Another store with automatic sales will open in the coming months in Český Krumlov, and in this case it will be a larger store.
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