Sunday shopping will be on offer from Sunday, 31 January 2021, at the avec store, Zurich Hardplatz. While staff will remain in the store during the day from Monday to Saturday, the avec store will work autonomously on Sundays. This new hybrid model is made possible by the avec app, already used by Valora for the avec box.
Access, purchase and payment on Sundays work via the avec app that the customer can use as a kind of personal key to the shop. The convenience store will still be staffed on the other days of the week, offering a proven range of fresh comestibles for people on the move, daily food and key household items.
To comply with official anti-coronavirus measures in Canton Zurich, 24-hour shops must currently remain closed between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. – the 24/7 hybrid model will initially only work on Sunday between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Once the cantonal ban on night-time shopping has been lifted, customers will also be able to shop independently from Monday to Saturday during the night from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. When that happens, 24-hour shopping will be on offer at the Hardplatz avec store.
This 24/7 solution at Zurich Hardplatz aligns with Valora's strategy for innovative self-checkout solutions. In April 2019, the company already launched the cashier-free convenience store avec box. The avec box site at ETH Hönggerberg has been extended until the end of May 2021.
Pilot with mobile self-checkout
Since the start of December 2020, Valora has been testing a mobile self-checkout in the two avec stores at Oerlikon station in parallel with staffed checkouts. Customers use the avec app to scan a QR code at the entrance so they can start shopping and choose the items they want. To complete the purchase, customers scan another QR code at the checkout. The mobile self-checkout will in future also be offered during the day at the Zurich Hardplatz avec store to avoid customers having to wait for too long during peak times.
Data privacy is very important to Valora in relation to the avec app. All personal data is processed strictly in accordance with data protection requirements. More information about the avec app and detailed explanations about registration, use and data privacy can be found at app.avec.ch.