Swiss Post Digitizes Village Shops in the Mountains

Shopping around the clock, 24/7 concept: In the Swiss mountains, more and more village shops are embracing digitalization. Thanks to innovative concepts, the looming closure can be prevented – benefiting both locals and tourists. The Swiss Post can also make an important contribution. This is demonstrated by the example in Surselva in the canton of Graubünden.

(Bern/Andiast/Waltensburg-Vuorz) In Andiast, Surselva region, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, around 200 people live at an altitude of nearly 1200 meters above sea level. The slightly lower-lying Waltensburg/Vuorz has around 330 residents. Village shops play an important role in mountain villages like Surselva. They provide locals and tourists with essential groceries and are often the only meeting point for a casual chat. However, these shops are struggling. The customer base is limited, and the possible alternatives for shopping are diverse. If they close, the affected locality loses its attractiveness.

Shops are only staffed from 7 AM to 12 PM

How to avoid closures and secure operations is shown by the example in Surselva. Both village shops fully embrace digitalization and collaboration with the Post. A special concept was developed for this purpose. The two shops are now open around the clock. Those who want to use the 24/7 system only need to register once. After that, shopping is always possible – even on Sundays and public holidays. Customers can scan the selected products themselves at the checkout. Payment can be made with bank and post cards, Twint, or on account. From Monday to Saturday, from 7 AM to 12 PM, shop staff are also on site. During these hours, customers can also handle their postal transactions with the staff – here the proven partner model of the Post comes into play.

Digitized and mostly unstaffed, this could be how the rescue of the classic village shop looks (or rather) in the Swiss mountains.

Goods flow can be organized more efficiently

The operators hope for higher sales from the introduction of the 24/7 shopping concept. Thanks to the new opening hours, working individuals or second homeowners can also take advantage of the village shop’s offerings. At the same time, personnel costs can be reduced. With digitalization, the entire goods flow can also be organized more efficiently. Sara Hoch emphasizes: “We want to use digitalization, but we do not want to forget the people – that was our approach in implementing the new hybrid village shop concept.” To prevent theft, video surveillance is installed in the shops. The Post, in turn, has developed a lockable roller shutter. This allows the postal counter to be securely closed during self-service hours. Photo: © Swiss Post / Caption: Digitalization in the Swiss mountains; The Swiss Post keeps the post office and village shop open 24/7 (PS: The language on the door sign is in Romansh, the fourth national language of Switzerland)