The Temesvári COOP Szuper Plusz Áruház in Szeged has opened as Hungary’s second hybrid smart store, and — as presented at the XX. Coop Rally — it keeps its entire 6,000-item assortment available beyond regular staffed hours without on-site personnel. The shop uses the 247 Shop system developed by Hungarian company Laurel Kft., adapted here for a supermarket-sized environment.
Built on domestic pilot results
The rollout follows real operational experience in Hungary. The country’s first hybrid smart shop opened in Szeged in May 2025. According to data released in June, the initial 150-square-meter location recorded more than 27,000 purchases during unmanned operating hours over one year. During those hours the average basket value was roughly 22% higher than during staffed hours, and continuous 0–24 operation delivered a 23.61% revenue uplift overall.
The supermarket deployment also incorporates an AI-based gesture-recognition system, which detected several attempted thefts and issued alerts to remote monitoring.
How the 247 Shop works
Laurel Kft.’s 247 Shop links traditional, staffed retail hours with automated, unattended operation. After staffed hours, registered customers enter using a QR code available in the mobile app and complete payment at self-service checkouts. The solution integrates camera surveillance and a remote dispatch service, enabling extended opening hours on existing infrastructure without converting the entire store to permanently unmanned operation.
Bessenyei Attila, managing director of Laurel Kft., said the first shop’s results demonstrated real customer demand in Hungary for 24/7-extended opening and that the model is commercially viable. He added that adapting the technology to a much larger store category is significant professionally, because a supermarket layout requires handling greater floor area, more complex customer routes and multiple entry/exit points while keeping the system effective, secure and easy to use.
Scalability and outside interest
Laurel’s management emphasizes that the hybrid technology is not tied to a single store format: the system can be tailored from small-footprint shops up to large supermarkets to match site size, layout and operating patterns. Bessenyei said there is already interest in the solution from outside the Coop network and that preparations are underway with several commercial partners, suggesting the project may evolve into a broader operating model rather than a one-off pilot.
About Laurel Kft.
Laurel has focused on retail technologies since 1993, developing integrated business and in-store systems. Its solutions operate today in 12 countries, in 6,500 stores and at more than 100,000 endpoints. The 247 Shop is the company’s in-house solution enabling unattended operation across formats from small shops to supermarket scale.
