In Bublava in the Sokolov District, the first grocery store with automated operation in the Karlovy Vary Region has been set up; foreigners without a Czech bank identity can also shop there.
In Bublava in the Sokolov District, the first automated store in the Karlovy Vary Region has begun operating. Customers can shop there at night and at weekends. Staffed opening hours remain the same, and after they end, shopping is unstaffed.[1][2]
Reason for the change
Petr Lerch, commercial director of the Západočeské konzumní družstvo cooperative based in Sušice, said that the residents of the small municipality have little purchasing power and tourists come only in season, so long opening hours could not be sustained. The cooperative therefore considered closing the store or changing its concept. The municipality helps keep the store open with a symbolic rent, and subsidies also contribute.[1][2]
How shopping works
Shopping requires a payment card, a smartphone with the app and a bank identity. What is new is that ČSOB's DoKapsy app now also opens to foreign visitors: a foreigner registers by scanning an ID card or passport, and registration takes a few minutes. The Bublava store is to be the first where this option is used. According to Lukáš Němčík, vice-chairman of the COOP network, identity verification increases security and ensures that only people over eighteen enter, so alcohol can also be sold in automated mode.[1][2]
Němčík said that automated stores are spreading quickly in Czechia and the COOP network alone operates more than 130 of them.[1][2]
Related articles: Bublava, Karlovy Vary Region
Chronology
- — The first automated grocery store in the Karlovy Vary Region has opened in Bublava, where customers can also shop without bank identity. iDNES.cz: Karlovy Vary ČRo Karlovy Vary
Sources
- iDNES.cz: Karlovy Vary — 16 October 2026
- ČRo Karlovy Vary — 16 October 2026