Smark and Deutsche Bahn open 24-hour supermarket

The store does not rely on staff; a robot processes the orders.

The Stuttgart-based start-up Smark is opening the first 24-hour supermarket without staff in Germany together with Deutsche Bahn. The store is to be located at Renningen station in Baden-Württemberg. Initially, 300 products will be available, but this is set to rise to almost 800 in the long term. In addition to Smark, Edeka Südwest is also involved in the project.

Customers can put together their shopping via smartphone or at the vending machine and a robot will then select the products. Renningen station is one of the so-called future stations where Deutsche Bahn wants to try out new concepts.

Smark, founded in 2016, says it is working on "Supermarket 4.0". The company has already tested the SmarkBox at Stuttgart station in the past. Food was also available at the pick-up station, including regional specialties such as Maultaschen.