Out the Box

NOW THAT'S A GOOD IDEA

Chat checkouts’ bring personal touch back

A Dutch supermarket plans to combat loneliness in the elderly with an ambitious new initiative.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

Dutch supermarket Jumbo has unveiled plans to open 200 Kletskassa – chat checkouts – at its stores within a year.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The supermarket chat checkout is part of a health ministry programme to combat loneliness. The Netherlands has some 1.3 million people over the age of 75, over half of whom have said they regularly feel lonely. The initiative aims to pick up the signs of loneliness early and invites companies, organisations and local councils to work together to come up with creative solutions, such as the chat checkouts.

IS IT A NEW IDEA?

The idea for the Kletskassa originated more than two years ago, and in the summer of 2019 the first kletskassa was opened in Vlijmen in Brabant. By this time next year, there will be Kletskassas in 200 stores across the country where people can go for a chat. When choosing the stores, areas where loneliness is a major factor are carefully considered. Jumbo will begin to roll out its chat checkouts in the run-up to the Week Against Loneliness, which kicks off on 30 September.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?

Colette Cloosterman-van Eerd, Chief Creative Officer of Jumbo and the driving force behind the National Coalition against Loneliness, said: “Many people, especially the elderly, sometimes feel lonely. As a family business and supermarket chain, we are at the heart of society. Our stores are an important meeting place for many people, and we want to play a role in identifying and reducing loneliness. We do this in various ways, including our Kletskassas.

“We are proud that many of our cashiers like to take a seat behind a Kletskassa. They support the initiative and want to help people to make real contact with them out of genuine interest. It is a small gesture, but very valuable, especially in a world that is digitising and getting faster and faster.”

HOW ELSE CAN STORES TACKLE LONELINESS?

Jumbo – a member of the National Coalition against Loneliness, an initiative of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in the context of the One Against Loneliness action programme – has various other initiatives to establish personal contact between people.

Cloosterman-van Eerd added: “At Jumbo we want to be more than just a place where you do your shopping. For example, we help our stores by means of a manual to signal loneliness among customers and to set up local initiatives. This handbook has been drawn up in close collaboration with One Against Loneliness.”

The retailer also opened the All Together Coffee Corner, where seniors can connect with volunteers from a local foundation who are there to chat or to help with small chores.

Last year the supermarket introduced special Chat Packages to help its customers contribute to combating loneliness. Shoppers could send packages, which came in three variants –Vegetable Soup, Hot Lightening, and Apple Pie, with a ‘from me for you’ giveaway box and greeting card. It hopes that the initiative would inspire customers to cook or bake for someone else more often and thus stay in touch.