The decline of village shops has affected many rural communities, but new self-service solutions and community-driven projects bring hope for maintaining vitality. Risto Kortetjärvi (Fiksukyläkaupat Oy) is a full-time village retailer with several village stores operating on a self-service model.
Kortetjärvi says that his career has gone from being an automation engineer to a full-time village shopkeeper.
“We moved to the country and there was no store there. We decided to set it up ourselves, and since we couldn't be on duty there, we made it a self-service store,” he describes.
The first shop was established in Vesanga, where trading had been lost for decades.
– The village had adapted to life without a shop, but when a new one opened, people noticed its importance. In another town, Hankasalmi, the closing of the shop was a shock to the villagers, and the new shop was created through a popular movement, says Kortetjärvi. In Hankasalmi, the shop was financed by the villagers' donations and funds.
In self-service stores and vending machines, it is important that it works.
– When there is a self-service store or vending machine, it has to work. If there is an image that it might work, it is easy to drive further to get that product. The functionality has to be impeccable. Kortetjärvi states.
Kortetjärvi believes that the future of rural areas is still viable if basic services can be secured.
– We have better conditions than ever to live in the countryside – remote working, mobility and technology are in good shape. We just need new models for organizing everyday services.
Kortetjärvi also sees artificial intelligence as an opportunity.
– I've been thinking about whether, as soon as it's realistically possible, there could be an artificial intelligence salesperson in the store to guide the customer.
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