Milestone for trailblazing shop.box grab and go store in Heilbronn, Germany
shop.box, situated at an educational campus in Heilbronn, Germany, celebrated its fourth birthday this past weekend.
This is a 24/7 solution where people can use an app to buy snacks, small meals, drinks and a selection of everyday essentials 365 days a year.
shop.box is open to students and members of campus staff and works just like a takeaway market. The prerequisite for access and shopping is registering for the aforementioned app. Payment is made via credit card provided during registration or via Klarna. The app is available at shop.box in the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
In a LinkedIn post, Prof. Dr. Stephan Rüschen of Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) and former Customer Management Director at METRO Deutschland, said: "On 15th March 2021, shop.box was opened as the first grab and go store in Germany on the educational campus in Heilbronn and is thus celebrating its fourth birthday.”
"It has long since become a normal part and a place of shopping for our students on the educational campus. For me, it is still a store to carry out projects with students. In total, we have already carried out 31 projects with 140 students from DHBW Heilbronn."
"My students can not only discuss the complete marketing mix of a retail company theoretically, but also implement it in concrete terms: Customer surveys (qualitative and quantitative); Definition of promotional items and prices; Product range revision at article level; Communication via your own Insta and TikTok channel and digital signage; Acceptance of technologies."
He added: "The 155th guided tour for interested parties through shop.box this week, shows the - still - great interest in grab and go technology. We are also happy about the 20 brothers and sisters that have opened in Germany in the last four years: REWE Pick & Go, Netto Marken-Discount Pick & Go, Teo, Q1 Energie, Žabka, Bäckerei Raffelhüschen, Rewe To Go by Lekkerland SE.
2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS
Grab and go stores will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, organised by our sister title Retail Technology Innovation Hub.
The awards. which will open for entries in April, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
The 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”
He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”
“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”
Congratulations to the 2024 winners, and a big thank you to the sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering.
