Rewe has opened a new miniature store that looks completely different from the previous branches. It is open 24 hours a day and there are no cashiers. “Josefs Nahkauf Box” is a test that could set a precedent in rural areas.
Rewe tests new store concept in Bavaria
In the small Bavarian community of Pettstadt with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, Rewe has one new automated mini market opened. Customers can enter the store at any time as there are no opening times. There are also no cashiers to be found, instead customers in “Josefs Nahkauf Box” pay cashless with their EC or credit card at a self-checkout counter.
Compared to a normal Rewe supermarket, the new store is significantly smaller at just 39 m². In addition to fruit and vegetables, customers can also expect a selection of dairy and frozen products as well as drugstore items. Non-alcoholic drinks are available and there is even a cigarette machine. When it comes to fresh products, Rewe steps up regional and local suppliers, otherwise many own brands are used. The range includes around 700 items.
According to Rewe, there are only in Germany around 8,000 underserved settlement areas. So that customers do not have to travel long distances to the nearest town, everyday items are offered directly on site. Rewe speaks of a “future-oriented local supply” (source: Lebensmittel Zeitung). The extent to which the concept is to be expanded later has not yet been communicated.
Cash registers are already completely missing from Amazon Go:
German supermarkets are testing new concepts
Not just Rewe, but basically all the larger ones Grocery retailers are currently testing new concepts, some of which already do without cash registers. Netto was the first discounter to open a store in Munich where cashless shopping is already possible. Only the net app is required. Amazon also operates such branches in Europe.