Smart stores · 24/7 · Switzerland
The store that never closes
Smart stores — unmanned 24/7 shops — bring local supply back to villages and make small retail spaces profitable again. We explain the concepts, document real locations and guide you from idea to daily operation.
Basics
What is a smart store?
A smart store is a small-format shop that operates without staff and stays open around the clock. Customers serve themselves, scan their products and pay cashless. Research by DHBW Heilbronn describes five typical traits:
Unmanned
No sales staff in the store — restocking and cleaning happen outside shopping hours.
Open 24/7
Shopping at any time of day or night, including Sundays.
Small footprint
From a few square metres up to around 300 m² — from vending shop to village store.
Cashless
Payment by card or TWINT — lowering effort and theft risk.
Registered access
Entry via app, bank or customer card creates security and enables age verification.
Market development
A niche is establishing itself
What started in 2019 with a single village store is now a measurable trend — driven by staff shortages, store closures and changing shopping habits. A look at Germany, the best-documented market in Europe, shows where things are heading.
- smart stores 24/7 in Germany — new ones keep opening
- 1,000+
- Market estimate 2025
- rely on self-checkout rather than camera technology
- 70 %
- DHBW Heilbronn, 2025
- stores secure rural supply — the largest field of application
- 270+
- DHBW Heilbronn, 2025
- farm shops and direct marketers sell their assortment unmanned around the clock
- 150+
- DHBW Heilbronn, 2025
Sources: DHBW Heilbronn / Kompetenznetzwerk Handel (as of 2025). The total is a market estimate.
The building blocks
The technology ecosystem behind a smart store
An unmanned store is more than a till without staff. Only the interplay of several building blocks makes operations safe and profitable — these components are part of it:
Age & access control
AI-powered ID verification in milliseconds, documents from over 200 countries.
StellardInventory & analytics
Cloud dashboard with sales, product management and revenue figures in real time.
scango.chMonitoring & security
Video surveillance and clear processes for theft prevention.
Payment terminal & infrastructure
Payment terminal, cooling, climate and remote access — the invisible foundation.
The complete concept
Dorla — everything combined as an autonomous village store
Dorla shows how the core building blocks become a working whole: the autonomous 24/7 village store in Gähwil (SG) has been operating since spring 2025 — around 2,500 products, sourced regionally where possible, run by Toggenburgshop AG. Gähwil serves as a blueprint for further villages.
Consulting
Learn the business inside a real 24/7 shop
We have been involved in running autonomous stores in Toggenburg since 2021. We share this hands-on knowledge — regardless of which checkout solution you end up using.
Topics from daily practice
- Operations & processes
- Supplier management
- Monitoring
- Theft prevention
- Payment options
- Age verification
On-site store tour
Around 90 minutes behind the scenes of a real 24/7 shop in Toggenburg — including a checklist for your own operation.
CHF 250 one-off, excl. VAT
Individual consulting
Concrete answers for your existing or planned unmanned shop concept.
CHF 190 per hour, excl. VAT
Smart stores in real life
A selection from our location database — from the autonomous village store to the small-town beer shop.
Let's talk about your smart store
Whether you are a municipality without a village store, a farm shop or a retailer: we show you what works — with experience from running our own stores.