Okay Direct a convenience store, like there are dozens in Ghent. The only particularity: there is no human presence… To enter, you have to scan a card from the Colruyt group, of which the supermarket is a part. The same card is then used to unlock the distributors. Gert Somers, store manager, demonstrates this: “as a customer, I scan the cabinet, take my item and automatically the system registers that I took the item, by weight. I close the checkout, and the item is added to my receipt.“
This technology was developed in Belgium and earned the store the Mercure Prize, which rewards innovation in the country. “It’s a unique convenience store all over the worldaffirms Gino van Ossel, the president of the jury of the price. There are others that are open 24 hours a day, but not without permanent staff presence.“