“It appears that automated solutions, which were originally rare and unusual in selected municipalities, may also be a widespread solution for commercial services in rural areas. At the same time, the results of research to date show that shops in the smallest municipalities continue to close, which is a problem for many groups of the population, something that people in cities often cannot imagine,” said Zdeněk Šilhan from the Institute of Regional Development at FRRMS MENDELU. The disadvantages of automated stores include less social contact, the need for technical solutions, age verification for alcohol sales to minors, mistrust among some residents, and the risk of theft. On the other hand, the advantages include higher sales, lower costs, extended opening hours, and a more modern store appearance.

Automated stores exist in two operating models. A fully automated store operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In some cases, it may have a short night break, for example between midnight and 5 a.m. A hybrid store operates for part of the day, typically in the morning for a few hours, and is open as standard with staff for customers who prefer personal contact or do not use technology. The rest of the day, it operates automatically without staff. “This approach addresses one of the main objections to automated stores, namely that they spoil social life in the community and that seniors will not get used to new technologies. A salesperson still has to be in the store even in automated mode, because someone has to take care of the store and the inventory,” explained Šilhan. Hybrid stores can then be combined with smaller cafes or coffee corners, which support the social significance of the store.

Automated stores first proved successful in towns and tourist attractions such as Lipno nad Vltavou and Lednice, where they allow visitors to shop in the evenings and at night. However, they are now also appearing in villages with 300 to 400 inhabitants. “In our research, we focus on villages with up to 1,000 inhabitants, especially those with only one grocery store or none at all. Here, automated stores help keep businesses economically viable—they reduce costs and increase sales thanks to a better customer experience, e.g., a nicer, more modern store appearance and longer opening hours. It is most important in terms of rural commercial services in places where traditional shops are on the verge of operational sustainability or have already closed. On the other hand, it makes less sense in villages where there has been no shop for a long time and people are already used to commuting, or in villages with one or more prosperous shops where competition is strong,” said the researcher.

In order for an automated store to function, it must contain a range of technical equipment, which requires significant initial investment costs. “The store must have equipment for identifying customers via a mobile app using a bank ID or an NFC card issued by the retailer in the customer’s name, and an electronic lock on the entrance door that ensures automated opening after customer identification. The entrance can be supplemented or replaced with a security turnstile. In addition, a self-service checkout is required for scanning product barcodes and making payments, security cameras, a system for identifying all goods, a system for detecting a person lying on the floor in case someone feels ill in the store, and remote management, thanks to which store operations can be monitored remotely from a mobile device or computer,” Šilhan listed.

The FRRMS MENDELU research team is building on previous research into commercial services, which focused primarily on the closure and occurrence of shops in rural areas and their location factors. The research also looked at the impact of shop closures and the possibilities for supporting commercial services on the part of municipalities, regions, and ministries. “The current research, which we are launching in the coming weeks, focuses more on automated and hybrid stores – their advantages, disadvantages, impact on rural life, and possibilities for further expansion. The procedures include questionnaire surveys among residents and operators, interviews and focus groups with representatives of municipalities, retailers, and various experts, and linking the results with the socioeconomic characteristics of municipalities. As part of the research, a model store will be created with information and demonstrations for potential interested parties from municipalities where traditional trade is on the verge of sustainability,” Šilhan described.

The future of shopping in rural areas in Czechia can be predicted based on developments in European countries to the west of us. “I think that traditional shops in small towns will continue to close, and automated and hybrid shops will gradually expand. The expansion of supermarkets, which often cause small shops in rural areas to close, will stagnate. Experience from Germany and France shows that there is a point at which no more supermarkets are built, or some even close. Artificial intelligence will play a greater role in shopping, e.g., automated recognition of goods without barcodes at the checkout, easier scanning of goods by simply placing them on the checkout, and adjusting prices via digital price tags according to the time of purchase,” the scientist outlined.

Research within the project Impacts of New Technologies in Rural Food Retail is supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.

The application guarantor is the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Department of Business Environment and Commercial Activities. The Association of Local Authorities of the Czech Republic has expressed interest in the results of the research.