VkusVill without cash registers

History

2025: Opening stores in St. Petersburg

The first convenience stores without sellers St. Petersburg at night began operating in February 2025. The VkusVill retail chain has introduced an identifiable entry system by QR code, becoming the first Russian company to use this format to sell products.

According to RBC, the company has equipped the front doors of stores with magnetic locks with tablets. After 21:00 or 22:00, cashiers leave the room, activating the night access system, in which buyers can enter by scanning the QR code.

𝓲

Фото: rbc.ru

The pilot project, launched in December 2023 in Moscow and the Moscow region, showed no increase in theft and vandalism. Territorial manager, member of the VkusVill board of governors Liubov Frolova notes the importance of round-the-clock availability of products for buyers.

In the metropolitan area there are 80 stores of a new format. In St. Petersburg, the first three points opened on Planernaya Street, Marshal Blucher Avenue and Orlovo-Denisovsky Avenue. Refrigerators with alcoholic beverages are blocked at night in accordance with the law.

The idea of ​ ​ the format is borrowed from South Korea, where such a trade model is actively developing. In Russia, similar experiments were carried out earlier: in 2019, the Beans chain opened a store in Moscow without sellers, in 2020 Pyaterochka tested automated payment, and Azbuka Vkusa, together with Sberbank and Visa, launched a store with automatic debiting of funds.

The VkusVill chain, founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Andrei Krivenko, operates more than 2.4 thousand stores in 172 cities. There are Russia 371 stores and 18 darkstores in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. More than 97% of the assortment is represented under its own brand.

In 2024, the company expanded its presence in 19 new cities and towns of the Leningrad Region, also launching the first darkstore with open services GastroDar^[1]

2022: Opening a store in Moscow

VkusVill opened its first store in Moscow without sellers and cash desks. This became known on February 9, 2022. The project was called "VkusVill without cash desks," it is being implemented together with the developer of intelligent systems for retail Neurus.

When entering, the buyer needs to scan the QR code in the network application to which the buyer's bank card is linked. After purchases, the client needs to exit through a special turnstile and payment will be written off the card automatically.

Sellers visit the new "VkusVill" only in the morning to lay out fresh food on the shelves. However, at first, visitors to the store will be met by a consultant.

"VkusVill" opened its first store without sellers and cash registers

The small 52 m2 store sells cooking and sandwiches, groceries, packaged fruits and vegetables, drinks, desserts and dairy products - only about 220 product items.

By February 2022, 90% of VkusVilla stores (1300 in the network) have self-service cash desks. The retailer has a network of more than 300 micro-markets in business centers and offices and vending machines, including those located at MCC stations.

Other retailers have already tested the format of stores without cash registers in Russia. For example, in 2019, Metro has stores without cashiers "Beans." In 2020, the same project was launched by the ABC of Taste together with Visa and Sberbank. To go to such a store, you need to attach a QR code to the turnstile in a special mobile application with a linked bank card. Now this project has been suspended, but it is possible that the format will be launched in new locations.

According to Kirill Shcherbakov, director of micromarket management and curator of the VkusVill without cash desks project, a ready-made food store with contactless payment is a trend that is causing more and more interest. At the same time, the development of the project and its scaling will depend on the interest of consumers.^[2]

Notes