Coop Denmark is testing a cashierless option in a convenience store to allow shoppers to use the store after closing hours.
Coop members can now visit the Dagli´Brugsen store in Sengeløse outside normal opening hours and shop for groceries using the new cashierless option.
The store, usually staffed and open from 7:00 hours to 21:00hours, is currently testing the new format at various times throughout the day.
In the long run, it will be possible to keep the store open to members during hours when it is normally closed, the company noted.
'Make Everyday Life Easier'
Coop Denmark CEO, Kræn Østergård Nielsen, commented, "In 1949, we opened Denmark's first self-service store. At first, customers accustomed to being served by employees behind a counter were skeptical. You will probably be here too. But the new technology will help make everyday life easier for many consumers in the future."
Chain director of Dagli´Brugsen, Maria Beck-Tange, said, "In Dagli´Brugsen's new strategy, a key element is that we must contribute to the local community being a good place to live. This new digital opportunity is one of the ways.
"We have many Dagli´Brugsen stores located in many communities with a long distance to the nearest other shopping option. With this model, members can just drop by the store and pick up milk, cold cuts and other necessities they need after closing time or early in the morning, before we would normally open."
She added, "The big prospect of the solution, however, is that it can provide stores with extra turnover at no extra cost. It can help ensure the survival of many shops, which are the lifeblood of many communities."
How It Works
Coop members can access the store by scanning a QR code at the entrance with their Coop App. Purchases added to the shopping list by scanning the items with the phone and payment is made via the app by scanning the QR code at the end.
To avoid theft, the store is video-monitored and random checks may occur, the retailer noted.
Apart from spirits, cigarettes, over-the-counter medicines, and other items that usually require personal service, shoppers can choose from the entire range in the store.
The technology in the store has been tested for a month for selected members, in a so-called beta test, which has gone well and the chain is now opening it to all shoppers.
The next step will be gathering experience over a period of time and then the next store will be ready for self-service outside of opening hours.
In the long run, Coop Denmark intends to implement the format in more stores to allow self-service option to more shoppers outside opening hours.
Elsewhere, Finnish convenience retailer R-kioski has opened a cashierless store R-kioski Go! in Viikki, Helsinki.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Technology news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
