If you don’t like self-service check outs, this shop probably isn’t for you.
The unmanned shop, in the southern Sweden village of Viken, uses a smartphone app to allow customers to scan their own shopping, meaning no sales people are required. Its doors can also be unlocked at any time using a phone, meaning it’s open 24-hours a day during an entire year.
The futuristic staff-free shop was the idea of local resident Robert Ilijason and it opened after the app was approved by Apple in January. He thought there should be a store in his village open all the time, so he started thinking about how to solve this problem in a modern and technical way. The idea for the shop is similar to unmanned gyms. It can stay open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, because it does not require staff. Shoppers use the app on their smartphones to unlock the door and scan each purchase. They are then charged monthly for their purchases. The customers are also able to influence what the shop stocks by requesting certain items if they are not already in stock.
Ilijason has also thought of ways to combat any chance of people stealing from the shop. “To enter, you need to use your app where you identify yourself using Bank ID,” he told MailOnline. “So I know who you are and will only allow you in if you have no history of credit issues. My store has been successful in the dimension I care about,” Ilijason said.
He did admit, however, it has not been a huge success because it is “in a quiet village that already has two stores. “I opened it there because that’s where I live. I’m sure it will work better in other places,” he said. “My plan is to package this technology in a simple way to enable others to open whatever shop they want.”
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