PENNY launches the ‘autonomous’ store concept on May 29 in Bucharest

PENNY announces a premiere on the local retail market by launching its first autonomous store in the country, in Bucharest. The new store is located in the Politehnica area and offers a 100% digital shopping experience.

In a 349 square meter space, customers can make purchases quickly, with selected products automatically recognized at the self-checkout cash register, where the shopping list is checked for accuracy before payment is completed. The process is secured by advanced technology and 5,000 sensors are placed throughout the shopping route.

Although the technology used offers a 100% digital shopping experience, the team in the store is ready to answer questions from customers, assist in the automated process those who need it, but also ensure that the stocks of products on the shelf are sufficient during the entire operating hours of the store.

“Improved shopping experience, rapid expansion, digitization and the assortment of products we offer to consumers are strategic pillars on which we base our business. And the new autonomous PENNY store is yet another proof that our strategy works and is continuously adapted to what our customers want. We are proud of our contribution to the digitalization of Romanian retail; we like to keep up with new trends even if it was an intensive period of testing the new technology for this new format. Given that this is the first fully autonomous PENNY store in Romania, we will monitor our customers’ feedback very carefully,” said Daniel Gross, CEO of PENNY | REWE Romania.