Opening a self-service store: location, costs and daily operations
Before you order hardware, it pays to take an honest look at your location, your product range and the workload. Here are the questions that actually matter before you open – with current Swiss prices and a checklist to work through.
What does a self-service store need?
A 24/7 store is more than a checkout. You need suitable floor space, reliable payment, clean product data and operations you can keep an eye on remotely.
Suitable floor space
Village shop, farm shop, beverage store or specialty store – with a clear range and good access.
Self-checkout
Your customers scan their own items and pay without queuing at a till.
Cloud dashboard
Manage products, prices, sales and reports from anywhere.
Payment
Card payment through a terminal approved for unattended self-service.
Age verification
OptionalFor alcohol and other age-restricted products: check access and age digitally.
Around-the-clock operation
Longer opening hours without permanently staffing a till.
Is your location suitable for self-service?
These six questions cost you half an hour and save you expensive corrections. A good location cuts down on explanation, mistakes and day-to-day support.
- Is the store visible, easy to reach and safely accessible during the hours you want to open?
- Are power, stable internet, lighting and a suitable spot for the checkout in place?
- Is the product range clear enough for customers to shop on their own?
- Who handles restocking, cleaning, faults and occasional checks?
- Are there alcohol or other age-restricted products that need additional controls?
- Is there enough demand outside staffed opening hours?
An open question is not a deal-breaker – but it is something to settle before you order.
What does a self-service store cost?
You pick one checkout and one plan – not everything at once. A kiosk always comes with an approved payment terminal and cabling, so the smallest combination is CHF 2'570.– one-off, not CHF 1'490.–.
One-off
- Sunmi K2 mini (15.6″, counter)
- CHF 1'490.–
- Sunmi K2 (24″, wall-mounted)
- CHF 1'990.–
- Sunmi Flex 3 (22″, desktop stand)
- CHF 2'490.–
- PayTec UTP1000F payment terminal
- CHF 1'060.–
- Swiss cabling
- CHF 20.–
- Stellard box
- CHF 1'890.–
Monthly
- Basis (first checkout included)
- CHF 99.–/mo.
- Retail (inventory, suppliers, multi-store)
- CHF 179.–/mo.
- Stellard Basis (per ID scanner)
- CHF 29.–/mo.
On top of that come items that never appear on our invoice: internet, electricity, insurance, restocking and the time for checks and support. Those are the positions that decide whether the store pays for itself.
All prices in CHF, excl. VAT. Minimum subscription term 12 months, monthly thereafter. No setup or installation fees.
Six steps to a 24/7 store
- 1
Define the concept
Set store type, product range, opening hours and target customers.
- 2
Check the location
Clarify access, power, internet, space and security requirements.
- 3
Choose the checkout
Pick kiosk, scanner, scale and payment to match your range.
- 4
Plan age verification
With alcohol or other restricted products, factor in access and age checks.
- 5
Prepare products
Set up range, prices, EAN codes and suppliers in the dashboard.
- 6
Launch and refine
Connect the checkout, brief your team and review the first sales.
What does day-to-day operation look like?
Self-service does not mean the work disappears. The difference: your time goes into predictable tasks instead of standing at a till. These are the recurring jobs.
- Go through sales, error messages and unusual transactions in the dashboard.
- Restock products – based on stock levels rather than gut feeling.
- Check tidiness, cleanliness, lighting, access and equipment.
- Keep prices, availability and product data up to date.
- Stay reachable for questions and faults, even without being on site.
Which products work for self-service?
Easy to start with
Packaged, clearly labelled, barcode-ready products are the easiest: shelf-stable food, drinks, eggs, regional specialties and many farm-shop products.
Needs more planning
Goods sold by weight, products without a barcode, perishable food and wide variant ranges need extra processes – a scale, your own price labels or more frequent checks.
Age-restricted products
As soon as alcohol or other age-restricted products are on the shelf, access, age verification and release belong in the concept from the start – not as a retrofit.
A technical age check supports that process. The setup and the responsibility for the range stay with the operator and must fit the location and applicable rules.
Does this fit your store?
Common mistakes at launch
A small, well-tested start almost always beats a technically overloaded store whose processes nobody knows yet. These points cost the most money and nerves.
- Starting with too many products before you know what actually sells.
- Underestimating the effort for restocking and checks, because the checkout runs by itself.
- Sorting out internet, power and a plan for outages only after installation.
- Clarifying legal requirements for operations, alcohol sales and opening hours too late – instead of aligning permits and youth protection early.
- Tackling age verification and access only once the product range is fixed.
- Measuring success by revenue alone – instead of also by availability, basket size, waste and support time.
Frequently asked questions about self-service stores
Do I need staff for a self-service store?
Not permanently at the till. You still need time for restocking, cleaning, support and checks. Plan those tasks deliberately – the dashboard shows sales, stock and exceptions in one place, so you do not have to be in the store for it.
What about theft in an unattended store?
This is the most common question – and technology alone does not answer it. The checkout creates transparency: every sale is recorded, and stock levels show you where goods are disappearing. Access control helps further, because the store is only open to people who have identified themselves first. Camera surveillance, store layout and signage remain the operator’s decisions and have to suit the location.
What do I need in place before opening?
The hardware arrives preconfigured. You need to prepare your product range with prices and EAN codes, the contract for the payment connection, plus power, internet and the spot for the checkout. Once those are ready, you go live together with scango.ch.
Can I sell alcohol or other age-restricted products?
Yes, with suitable age and access control. scango.ch works with Stellard for this: the Stellard box checks the age on the ID document and controls access to a door or fridge. It costs CHF 1'890.– one-off plus CHF 29.– per month and scanner. Responsibility for the product range stays with the operator.
Does scango.ch also work for a farm shop?
Yes. Farm shops are one of the typical use cases – especially when regional products should also sell outside conventional opening hours.
What does an individual setup cost?
That depends on store type, hardware, number of locations, scale and age verification. The smallest combination of kiosk, payment terminal and cabling is CHF 2'570.– one-off, plus from CHF 99.– per month. You will get a non-binding breakdown for your specific store through the quote form.
Let us work through the numbers for your store
You now know the location questions, the costs and the day-to-day workload. Next we look at your floor space, your product range and the right hardware – and you get a non-binding breakdown of one-off and monthly costs.
Looking for a complete concept for your self-service store?
Then take a look at Dorla. Dorla shows how an autonomous village store can work as a complete concept: location, store layout, regional products, round-the-clock access and a simple shopping experience belong together. The self-service checkout from scango.ch is one part of that concept.