24-hour shops: shopping – anytime and without staff

Status: 10/14/2021 8:44 a.m.

Shop whenever you want, right in the store – around the clock, every day: this is already a reality for some retailers. The business is a model for success, but it is also criticized.

The Würth Group became famous for selling screws. Today the company trades worldwide in all sorts of materials that craftsmen need. Würth has opened 24-hour shops so that customers can always get screws, dowels and other needs. The first in 2018 in Vöhringen in Bavaria. There are now 23 stores.

A concept in the interests of customers?

“The extended opening times mean that we are closer to our customers. Nowadays the classic time calculations are becoming more and more blurred, which means that many craftsmen and service technicians are also active in the evening, at night or on Saturday. With WÜRTH24, we can also access these customer groups Support your work “, says Matthias Glaser, Head of Branch Expansion at Würth. Customers receive over 4,500 products outside of normal business hours. All you need is an app. With their help, a QR code is generated with which the shop can be opened.

When entering the shop, the customer is greeted by name through a loudspeaker. Customers get their goods from the shelves and place them on a conveyor belt at the checkout. There the goods are recognized by a tunnel scanner. Then the customer receives a receipt, a green light gives a signal that they can leave the shop. The goods themselves are all secured with a fuse. If a customer tries to leave the shop without having scanned the goods beforehand, an alarm is triggered. In this way, the business is secured against theft. The amount to be paid will then be billed. It all works without staff. Würth emphasizes that the concept is intended to complement the existing range of services.

ver.di criticizes the 24-hour shops

Bernhard Franke from the trade union ver.di in Baden-Württemberg is not convinced by the concept: “Würth is apparently experimenting – like many other retail groups – with new, technologically driven forms of sales USA tested. I can only speculate whether this is a search for investment opportunities for the abundant capital or whether the development of such concepts is a new area of ​​business for the technology group. ”

Franke also fears that Würth will make itself independent of opening times and will do without staff in the future. If there are more and more fully automated shops, this could lead to massive job losses in the industry. Würth branch manager Glaser, on the other hand, assures: “The existing opening times of WÜRTH24 branches will remain unchanged and will continue to be staffed with employees during regular opening times. We rely on competent advice, and the human factor is essential for us.” In addition, you invest a lot of time and money in training employees and maintaining them areas of activity in the branches.

A concept for the future?

At Würth, they are certain that the concept of 24-hour shops has a future. One speaks of an “absolute success model”. By the end of 2022 there should be 50 such shops across Germany – about twice as many as today. Trade unionist Franke sees good opportunities for fully automated shops at best in certain locations: “At locations that are heavily frequented around the clock, such as airports, train stations, etc. – or perhaps in large companies. I don’t see a real alternative to well-run stationary retail . It is important to satisfy customer needs for quality, service, advice and shopping experience. Neither online trade nor a vending machine shop can do this so comprehensively.

Ultimately, however, it is up to the customers themselves whether this form of sales will prevail, says Franke. Because they would have to think about whether they want to contribute to the partial disappearance of the retail trade by accepting such forms of distribution.

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