It all started on Hohe Straße in Cologne: the first REWE To Go store opened on the popular shopping street in 2011. Today, twelve years later, REWE To is present as a convenience format throughout Germany and supplies consumers at around 800 Aral petrol stations and almost 20 high-frequency locations. Lekkerland, the convenience division of REWE Group, is now responsible for the latter.

The first REWE To Go location has now been given a new look. At the end of April, Lekkerland reopened the store on Hohe Straße after remodelling. The focus is now even more on fresh snacks and meals as well as drinks for hunger and thirst on the go - whether as a refreshment while shopping, for breakfast or lunch break or for the way home. No matter what time of day: fresh snacks and meals are increasingly in demand from consumers on the go.

Large "freshness island" with seven chests
The centrepiece is a large "freshness island". Seven jumbo chests offer a wide selection - from freshly prepared snacks such as bread rolls to packaged items such as sandwiches, wraps and salads to sushi. Other innovations include self-service coffee machines that also offer iced coffee. Customers can also look forward to the first slush ice machine in a REWE To Go. Eight self-checkout (SCO) checkouts, where customers can scan their purchases themselves and pay without cash, make shopping quick and easy.

SCO checkouts are very popular

"The newly opened store has been very well received by consumers," says Michael Mayer-Sonnenburg, Director Franchise & Convenience Stores, who is also responsible for REWE To Go locations outside of petrol stations. "The self-service slush ice and iced coffee offerings, which can be found in a REWE To Go location for the first time, are particularly popular." Customers also apparently find it practical to be able to pay for their purchases themselves using the self-checkout process: One in three customers already use one of the eight self-checkout tills before leaving the store - and the trend is rising."

First REWE To Go smart store in Düsseldorf
In addition to the new opening in Cologne, various other activities are planned at REWE To Go this year under the direction of Lekkerland. These include further remodelling, but also the opening of new locations - both as traditional stores and as stand-alone shops. The latter variant recently celebrated its premiere in a hospital belonging to the Schönklinik Group in Düsseldorf. Patients, staff and visitors can purchase snacks, food, drinks, kiosk items and drugstore products around the clock at the REWE To Go Smart Kiosk. Payment is made exclusively by self-checkout.