Groceries and more at almost any time of day or night - that's what "Josefs Nahkauf Box" offers. In Pettstadt near Bamberg, retailers Josef Sier and Thomas Scheuring opened the first "Walk-In Nahkauf".
Günther Schmid, Sales Manager Nahkauf Region South; Irina Brandt, Project Manager Nahkauf; Jochen Hack, First Mayor of Pettstadt; Thomas Arnold, Operations Consultant Region South; Michaela Kaiser, Local Councillor of Pettstadt; Merchant Josef Sier, Landlady Carina Krapp, Florian Sörensen, Sales Manager Nahkauf National (Photo: Achim Bachhausen)
A great success for a mini-market: In the Upper Franconian community of Pettstadt near Bamberg, REWE is testing a new format called "Josefs Nahkauf Box", which is intended to ensure the supply of fresh food and everyday products in the community of 2,000 inhabitants. The response to the opening was tremendous: the residents of the small town were just as impressed by the new shopping opportunity as the local retailers and representatives of local politics and administration. Many took the opportunity to do some spontaneous test shopping immediately after the opening.
Everything inside on 39 square metres
The easily accessible "box", affectionately christened "Bobby" by its creators, is a "walk-in store": customers can shop around the clock from Monday to Saturday on a sales area of 39 square metres. They can choose from a range of around 700 items. From apples to toothbrushes, there is everything for everyday needs. Customers can pay cashless at a self-checkout till using either a debit or credit card.
Customer-friendly and simple
The plastic card also gives customers access to the store. There they can move around freely and put together their purchases at their leisure. The assortment ranges from fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy and frozen products to dry goods, non-alcoholic drinks, toothbrushes and cigarette vending machines. When putting together the product range, special emphasis was placed on REWE store brands, organic products in all product groups and regional and local suppliers. Even trend products such as vegan products are not missing. However, consumers will not find any alcoholic drinks or spirits.
Cashless payment
Customers pay for their purchases with their debit or credit card. Each item must be scanned independently at a self-checkout till. Customers can then leave the mini-store with their purchase.
The practical Nahkauf box is operated by the two retailers Josef Sier and Thomas Scheuring, who run a Nahkauf store together in the small town of Walsdorf, 14 kilometres away. The duo take care of replenishment, maintenance and care.
the Nahkauf box offers700 items on around 40 square metres, including chilled drinks, snacks, mopro, self-service sausage and cheese.
8.000 residential areas in Germany are considered to be undersupplied. People who live there have to travel very long distances to the nearest grocery shop.
- Customer receives access via EC/credit card
- Customer moves around the store and puts together the purchase
- Customer scans the purchase at the self-checkout and pays without cash
- Customer leaves the store with the purchase
Box operator Josef Sier on the experiences of the first few days.
one: Did you have to think long and hard about whether to take over the 'satellite' market?
Josef Sier: As the operator of five Nahkauf stores, it has always been my concern to create grocery shopping opportunities for the residents of places and regions where there is and will be no local supply. In this respect, I was immediately convinced by the concept of this new type of local supply, especially for the non-mobile part of the population.
one: What are your experiences after the first few days of sales?
Josef Sier: The customer response has been very good and the reactions have been consistently positive. People are buying everything from fruit to sausages. Sandwiches, sweet and savoury snacks and chilled drinks are particularly popular. The media hype is also huge.
Josef Sier, 61, runs the newly opened mini-market "Josefs Nahkauf Box" in Pettstadt together with Thomas Scheuring.
