- What: Opening of the 24/7 supermarket „Tante Zukunft“
- Where: Holzmarkt, Jena
- Special feature: Fully automated shopping using a robot
- Opening hours: Open around the clock
Jena, 23.02.2026 – Anyone wishing to buy a few things late in the evening in Jena city center often faces closed doors. This is now changing with an innovative concept at Holzmarkt: three young founders have opened the fully automated supermarket „Tante Zukunft“. Here, customers no longer have to search the shelves themselves; instead, a robot handles the entire picking process. It is a model that could sustainably change retail in the „Lichtstadt“ (City of Light).
Fully Automated Shopping: How „Tante Zukunft“ Works
The principle of the new store is as simple as it is futuristic. Customers no longer enter the shop in the traditional sense to navigate through long aisles with a shopping cart. Instead, they ideally know in advance what they need and select the desired products digitally. A robot-supported system behind the scenes does the rest of the work. A robotic arm moves along the shelves, collects the ordered goods, and makes them available for pickup. Traditional checkout belts and the scanning of barcodes by human personnel are completely eliminated.
According to initial impressions on-site, customers on opening day reacted with equal parts amazement and satisfaction to the new technology. The smooth handover of goods and the possibility of shopping completely autonomously are meeting with great interest.
Holzmarkt as a Strategic Hub
The choice of location at Holzmarkt was strategically chosen by the three founders. As one of the most important traffic hubs in Jena city center, located directly at the central tram stops and in the immediate vicinity of the Goethe Galerie and the university campus, there is heavy pedestrian traffic at almost any time of day or night. Especially in a student city like Jena, where flexible living and learning rhythms are part of everyday life for tens of thousands of young people, such a 24-hour service meets a natural and constant demand.
Furthermore, „Tante Zukunft“ is part of a larger, nationwide structural change. In view of the ongoing staff shortages in retail and rising operating costs, more and more companies are testing automated „Smart Stores“ or modern vending machine concepts. Solutions using advanced robotics are considered a forward-looking response to the industry’s challenges. The fact that such a pilot project is now being realized by a local trio of founders in Jena underlines the city’s traditional reputation as a location for innovation and technology.
Outlook: A Model for the Future?
The coming weeks will show how stably the technology functions in continuous operation under full load and whether the product range optimally covers the needs of walk-in customers. Should the positive progress of the first few days be confirmed, „Tante Zukunft“ could not only permanently close a gap in local Jena retail but also serve as a flagship project for similar automated concepts throughout Thüringen.
We wish the founders a successful start into self-employment and all residents of Jena a smooth, forward-looking shopping experience at Holzmarkt.
Source:
Robot helps with shopping: New 24/7 supermarket in Jena
Transparency Note: This article was automatically generated, editorially reviewed, and expanded with AI support.