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Learn moreCOOP Jednota Secures Unstaffed Stores With Identity Verification
COOP Jednota Slovensko, Slovakia’s largest domestic retail network, runs close to 2,000 stores, more than any other retail chain in the country. They have established their presence beyond major cities, in smaller towns and regions where many competitors don’t operate. That kind of reach is what pushed the company to rethink what a store could be beyond operating hours, building a new retail format that keeps stores open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Retail in Slovakia has no existing playbook for this situation. The Czech Republic, for instance, leans on a bank identity scheme tied to a customer’s banking app. Still, that approach depends on infrastructure and regulation that don’t carry over to Slovakia. COOP Jednota needed a method that worked with what was available and tested several partners and approaches before settling on one. Two things mattered most: how easily the tool would fit into COOP Jednota’s existing system, and how little friction it would add for the shopper. Most customers would register only once, often standing right outside a locked store the first time they wanted to shop after hours. Every extra step or second in that moment was a reason to walk away, so speed and simplicity became as much a requirement as accuracy.
for 24-hour store access
staff physically checking ID
and fast enough for a first-time customer
Innovatrics supplied its Identity Verification Service to handle the one-time check within COOP Jednota’s mobile app. A customer registering for the first time photographs their ID document and takes a selfie. The platform runs a liveness check to ensure a real person is present, then matches the two to confirm their identity and legal age. From there, entry is granted through a QR code the customer generates in the app, backed by that initial face-to-ID match. The customer’s verified identity becomes the digital key that opens the door.
COOP Jednota integrated the solution directly into its existing app in a very short time, helped along by clear technical documentation and responsive support from Innovatrics. Running as a cloud service, they needed no new infrastructure or extra technology investment. Fast deployment, straightforward integration and cost efficiency made it the right fit for a retail rollout.
selfie at registration
and age once from that face match
in a matter of days
Since the launch of the hybrid solution, more than 57,000 customers of COOP Jednota have verified their identity and legal age through the app. Each one is now able to shop after staffed hours entirely on their own. What started as a single pilot has quickly grown into a nationwide network of 40 automated stores.
By verifying every customer, COOP Jednota can keep automated hours close to a normal shopping trip, with a full assortment that includes alcohol, except for goods from the staffed service counters. The door only opens for customers whose identities and ages have been verified in advance, so nothing needs to be pulled from the shelves to make the format work. Verified identity becomes the basis for safe and convenient unstaffed shopping, giving customers access to the store at any time of day or night.
since launch
around the clock
now running nationwide
One-time identity verification is a key element that enables automated stores to operate without staff present. Because the verification process isn’t tied to any one store, COOP Jednota has been able to extend the same registration and verification process to 40 nonstop stores nationwide, without rebuilding it for each new location.
Slovakia doesn’t yet have a unified national identity scheme for retailers to lean on, as some European countries do. Innovatrics Identity Verification Service lets COOP Jednota verify identity and age independently, on its own timeline and with full control over the process, rather than waiting on external identity solutions that don’t yet exist in its market.
Because the identity verification solution runs as a hosted cloud service, COOP Jednota doesn’t have to maintain it in-house. The verification layer keeps pace with every future update to the app and every new store added to the network. It also avoids adding a system for COOP Jednota’s own IT team to run alongside the retail business itself.
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