The Rewe To Go shop at Frankfurt Airport is the first cashier-free shop at an airport in Germany.

Airport operator Fraport and Lekkerland, a subsidiary of the Rewe Group, officially opened the unmanned convenience shop last month in Terminal One.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, the store does not have cash registers or sales staff. Instead, cameras record which products customers take. When they leave the shop, the bill amount is automatically debited from the cashless payment method that was scanned when they entered. Shoppers receive the receipt on their smartphone. Accepted payment methods are Girocards, credit and debit cards from Visa and Mastercard, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Shoppers can buy mainly fresh snacks such as sandwiches and salads, drinks and coffee specialties, as well as ice cream, snacks and sweets in the 70 square metre pilot shop. But selected travel supplies and drugstore items such as charging cables and toothbrushes as well as food are also part of the range, which includes around 570 items.

“Travellers, visitors and employees already find a wide range of options for shopping and dining at Frankfurt Airport,” said Karl-Heinz Dietrich, head of retail and leasing at Fraport (www.fraport.com). “The new Rewe To Go is an innovative addition to our range of around 280 shops, service providers and restaurants.

Mehmet Tözge, vice president at Lekkerland, added: “Frankfurt Airport is a perfect location for this special Rewe To Go, which enables fast and convenient supplies around the clock.”

It is a pilot shop with which Lekkerland wants to gain experience with the use of this smart store concept at such a location.

“We have tested and developed the concept intensively over the past few years,” said Tözge. “Now we are excited to see how customers at Frankfurt Airport respond to it.”

Lekkerland operates more than 20 unmanned shops. The locations include charging stations, hospitals, train stations and office complexes. The company uses different technologies. It offers services, customised logistics and a wide wholesale range.

Lekkerland (Lekkerland.de) operates around 41,800 sales points across Germany and employs around 3700 people. The company is active in the Netherlands; under the name Conway, it also operates in Belgium and Spain. Across Europe, the company operated around 62,800 sales points in 2023 and employed around 5700 people. Sales amounted to around €15.1bn.

Since 2020, Lekkerland has been part of the Rewe Group (Rewe-Group.com), one of the largest retail and tourism groups in Germany and Europe. In 2023, Rewe Group achieved total external sales of around €92.3bn. Founded in 1927, Rewe Group is present in 21 European countries with around 390,000 employees.

The pilot shop can be found in the public arrivals area of Terminal One on Level One in Section B and can be used by visitors, travellers and employees.