Naraffar is the first unstaffed Sweden grocery store to stock products on shelves and lets customers do the rest.
It is open 24 hours a day and allows customers to do transaction solely using their iPhone for convenience sake. Avoiding costly items, the owner decides not to employ any man. The grocery store caters eastern Sweden people and is to be the first unstaffed store in the country. A customer can get into the store, scan the items and pay them using an iPhone App that's linked to the customer's bank ID to receive an invoice at the end of the month.
It all started with a common problem of rushing to the grocery store only to find that it's already closed. Robert Illijason, Viken resident, was 20-minute too late to purchase baby food. Feeling disgruntled, he then opens his own grocery store where everyone can buy at anytime they want. In a small city with 4,200 residents, rural Sweden like Viken does not have many stores that open late.
His IT experience allows Illijason to solve the problem of costly staffs by using technology. Shoppers need to register and download an app to be able to purchase an item at Naraffar. They also use their phones to get into the store.
In this 480-foot space, there are six CCTVs to keep everyone honest as it uses trust-based payment. For security reason, the system will let the door stay open for eight seconds before it automatically closes, for security reason. Owner will receive a text message in case the door opens for more than 8 seconds or is broken.
Basically, the shop sells everything from dairy products, sugar, bread, diapers, and canned foods. Customers shop at Naraffar due to its competitive price and convenience. Everyone is able to get necessary products early in the morning or late at night before the big stores open.
Bigger supermarkets are replacing small convenience stores but the fact that going out to one could take miles from the countryside - this innovation may take an advantage of being faster and easier to reach. The local entrepreneur plans to expand his unstaffed grocery store concept in many other small towns.
