Instead of closed supermarkets: Norwegians launch remote control via camera

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When I see the sign with the store opening hours for the first time, I think it's a bad joke. It says 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. and at first, I think the “1” means 1 p.m.. But no: it really means 1 o'clock at night. On a small island on the west coast of Norway, with perhaps just over 1100 inhabitants. The solution to this riddle is technology: this is not just any small village supermarket, but a “delvis fjernbetjente butikk”, a partially remotely operated store. “Welcome to the high technology of the future” is proudly displayed on a large screen. And the small “Joker” store itself is crammed full of cameras, but otherwise looks normal and, in my opinion, even better equipped than I remembered.

Norway is tackling a problem that has been spreading in recent years: the death of local stores selling everyday products, which is making the supply situation in this sparsely populated country much worse. The first stores with remote control were launched in 2022. Since then, expansion has been rapid: There are now around 40 stores across the country with the technology, most of them converted from existing supermarkets. Joker belongs to Kjøpmannshuset Norge AS, which also operates “Spar” stores in Norway as well as the even smaller “Nærbutikken” chain stores. The latter have been dying like flies in recent years, with the result that entire village communities have simply tried to keep the stores open themselves. But only now, with the new technology, does it seem to be working. Kjøpmannshuset Norge AS, which is owned by the food retail giant NorgesGruppen, was recently even able to turn a negative result into a positive one – partly thanks to the new concept.

Many want to shop, no one wants to serve

Many of the stores only have one or two employees, who not only staff the checkout, but are also responsible for accepting the goods and putting them away. The job can be exhausting and stressful and there are much better and higher paid jobs in Norway, which is why fewer and fewer people can be found to run the stores. At the same time, customers are annoyed because the opening hours have become increasingly modest. Stores often opened late, sometimes as late as 12 noon, and closed early, around 6 pm. So you had to hurry to be able to buy anything – bad because in the Norwegian countryside you have to travel long distances anyway, sometimes by ferry, which is not easy to manage due to the weather conditions in storms or snow.

The stores with remote control are comparatively easy to set up. This is because there is no need for complex systems in which cameras and machine learning algorithms record what you take from the shelf, as we know from Amazon Go, for example, which is probably why it has still not been widely introduced. Instead, the cameras at Joker are primarily used for security. They are nevertheless aimed at almost every shelf, regardless of whether you are buying cheese, orange juice or fruit. To enter the store outside the – opening hours, which are still available – you scan your cell phone at the entrance or use a credit or debit card with NFC and/or PIN. You then shop as usual and finally go to one of the self-checkout terminals that are familiar from many German supermarkets that want to save on checkout staff. There you scan all the items and pack them up. Finally, after payment, you receive either an invoice with a barcode or just a barcode as a printout. The latter is important because you need it to leave the store: At the exit, the code is scanned as “proof of purchase” so that the doors open. If there are any problems while shopping or if you have any questions, you can contact a central office in the store at any time. This is also intended to prevent accidental locking in.

Data is stored

Of course, there is a certain amount of trust involved in the concept: crooks could get the idea of going into the store with the wrong cards, charging the wrong things and leaving the store with the loot. This, in turn, is what the cameras are for, whose feeds converge in a security office. Joker itself emphasizes that the stores, which are run by local merchants, have a “legitimate interest in enabling customers to shop safely, protect their assets and comply with legal requirements, e.g., for the sale of age-restricted goods”. A Norwegian krone is charged to the credit or debit card at the entrance to ensure that it works (a chargeback will follow later).

Parts of the card number are also stored to be able to check later who has entered the store, “e.g., in the event of a suspected breach of the conditions for using the store”, according to the retail chain. Joker stores this data for three months, i.e., 90 days. If a criminal is caught, their card is blocked so that they no longer have access to the store. “The information about the blocking is deleted when the case is closed, but within one year at the latest.” Products with age restrictions, such as beer – high-proof wine, whiskey or schnapps, are available in Norway in separate stores – and must be approved separately: You contact customer service while you are in the store by voice and camera. Alternatively, there is also the option of storing a one-off token that is based on the user's fingerprint but cannot be converted back into this. You can then verify your age later during self-checkout without human assistance.

Shopping in the village 24 hours a day

All in all, the concept seems to be working well. Some stores with remote control are now open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – even in the smallest villages, which was previously unheard of. Counterintuitively, however, this only works if the store is not too big: the Norwegian Shop Opening Act only allows stores to open on Sundays if the total sales area does not exceed a certain size. For example, larger supermarkets have separate areas just for Sunday – If you want something from the rest of the store, an employee has to go and get it. However, operating such a double structure would not be worthwhile for the small Joker stores, which is why only those stores whose sales area is small enough to be open on Sundays are open around the clock. There are also zones in Norway that are designated as tourist areas. These are then able to open on Sundays and public holidays, even if they have a larger sales area. Employees come in at certain core times to take care of stocking, offer postal services, collect money from people who don't want to self-checkout or just have a chat.

Customers are certainly happy about this: They get an infrastructure that they otherwise only know from big cities, suddenly in remote locations. “Customers no longer have to rush to the store to make sure they can shop within opening hours. People can choose whether they want to shop before or after work, on the way to or from soccer training, before or after skiing. And holidaymakers can set off from their vacation cottage safe in the knowledge that they will make it to the store before closing time,” says Joker, describing the dream behind the concept. The store chain has even combined the changeover with an expansion of its range: There are now more products in the store on the island in western Norway than before, as the space has been better utilized, meaning, for example, that staff lounges have been reduced and checkout areas have been made smaller. The only thing you have to get used to is the many cameras. They are a bit spooky at first – and could raise the alarm among data protectionists if, for example, police authorities start using them to combat crimes that have nothing to do with shoplifting.

(bsc)