Migros announces end to fully automated store
Migros Aare ends its pilot project Voi Cube. It was a fully automated self-service store open around the clock.
With the Voi Cube pilot project, Migros Aare has tested a way to meet the growing customer demand for more flexible shopping options. However, the conclusion is negative: Migros will stop operating the three fully automated stores in the Bern area in February 2023, it announced in a statement. It has become clear that the current model is too expensive in relation to demand. In the long term, the locations could not be operated economically.
Voi Cube works like a vending machine that can be operated 24/7 without staff present. The format appeals above all to a young clientele, and frequencies are highest outside normal store opening hours and on Sundays. The decisive factors for success are the size of the space and the breadth of the product range.
However, through the Voi Cube pilot project, "a lot of valuable experience and knowledge has been gained" that is of great value - for example, in the development of the new Teo format. This concept focuses on highly frequented locations in rural areas and offers a range of 800 articles on a sales area of around 50 square meters. (ah)
