How StoreTech Powers 24-Sju: Inside Europe's Largest Unmanned Grocery Chain

StoreTech is the cloud-native unmanned retail platform built and operated by Things at Web in Lidköping, Sweden, that powers 24-Sju, Europe's largest unmanned grocery chain. With 130+ stores running staff-free across the country, the platform handles entry, checkout, pricing, surveillance and inventory as one integrated system, keeping rural communities supplied with groceries around the clock.

What 24-Sju Actually Is

24-Sju (the name means "24-seven" in Swedish) is a chain of unmanned convenience stores that operate 24 hours a day, every day, with no staff on site. Shoppers let themselves in, pick what they need, scan it and pay — all without a cashier. The chain describes itself as an "obemannad matbutik med stort utbud" — an unmanned grocery store with a large selection — and positions itself as "starkast i Sverige på obemannad butik" (strongest in Sweden for unmanned stores) on its own site.

The product range is deliberately broad. Alongside national brands, 24-Sju stocks local producers: bread from regional bakeries and produce from nearby farms, according to the 24-Sju website. The stores come in several franchise formats — standard, kiosk and XL-kiosk — each run by a local entrepreneur. That franchise model is central to how the chain scales without a head-office workforce in every town.

The Rural Mission

The reason 24-Sju exists is straightforward: keep the Swedish countryside alive. As traditional grocers close in smaller towns, residents lose their nearest shop and, with it, a reason to stay. An unmanned store has a low enough operating cost to survive in places a staffed supermarket never could. By removing the single largest recurring cost — labour — 24-Sju makes a viable grocery shop possible in a village of a few hundred people.

The StoreTech Platform Architecture

StoreTech is the engine underneath every 24-Sju location. Built by Things at Web, it is a cloud-native platform that ties together the hardware in the store and the software that runs the business. Its stated mission, per the StoreTech site, is "transforming retail with smart, autonomous, and innovative store technologies," and the company positions itself as "experts in retail automation."

The platform is modular. Each store is assembled from the components it needs, and every component reports back to the same cloud backbone. The core modules StoreTech publishes are:

Module	Role in an unmanned store
Door control systems	Authenticate and admit shoppers; lock down the store when needed
Shopping kiosks	Self-scan and self-checkout terminals
Electronic price tags (ESL)	Update shelf pricing centrally and instantly
Vending machines	Dispense restricted or high-value goods automatically
Smart fridges	Monitor and secure chilled and frozen stock
AI cameras	Watch for theft, queues and incidents in real time
ERP	Run inventory, ordering, pricing and reporting
Mobile & web apps	Give operators and shoppers a control surface

Source: StoreTech product overview.

How the Modules Work Together

A shopper's visit to a 24-Sju store is a chain of these modules firing in sequence:

1. Entry. The shopper scans a BankID QR code at the door. The door control system verifies the identity and unlocks.
2. Selection. Smart fridges and shelving keep stock secure and tracked; electronic price tags show the current price, pushed centrally so a price change reaches every store at once.
3. Checkout. A shopping kiosk lets the shopper self-scan each item, with payment by card or Swish, the Swedish mobile-payment app, per the 24-Sju site.
4. Oversight. AI cameras monitor the floor continuously, flagging anomalies so a remote operator can intervene without being on site.
5. Replenishment. The ERP layer tracks what sold and what is left, driving restocking and ordering so a single operator can manage stock across many stores.

Because all of this runs on one cloud platform, a small central team can operate a chain of well over a hundred stores — something that would be impossible if each location needed its own staff and its own systems.

Why Build the Platform In-House

StoreTech is operated by Store Tech Scandinavia AB and built by Things at Web, a 21-strong engineering company in Lidköping with 100+ clients and a portfolio of proprietary products. Owning the platform end to end matters for unmanned retail: when there is no one in the building, the software is the staff. Entry control, loss prevention, pricing and inventory all have to work together reliably, because a failure in any one of them can close a store.

Building it in-house also means the platform evolves with real store data. StoreTech documents 100+ retail technology deployments on its site, and that operational feedback loop — running the stores, not just selling the software — is what lets the modules stay tuned to how unmanned retail behaves in practice.

Recognition

24-Sju's model has drawn industry recognition in Sweden:

• Winner — Framtidens Franchise 2026 (Franchise of the Future)
• Winner — Branschvinnare Svensk 2024 (Swedish Industry Winner), a badge displayed on the 24-Sju site
• Nominated — Världens smartaste butikskedjor (World's Smartest Store Chains, 2026)
• Nominated — Årets franchisekedja 2025 (Franchise Chain of the Year)

The awards reflect both halves of the story: a franchise concept that local entrepreneurs can run, and the retail technology that makes a staff-free store dependable enough to trust with a community's groceries.

FAQ

What is StoreTech?

StoreTech is a cloud-native unmanned retail platform built and operated by Things at Web in Lidköping, Sweden. It combines door control, self-checkout kiosks, electronic price tags, smart fridges, AI cameras, vending and ERP into one system that lets a store run 24/7 without staff on site.

How many stores does 24-Sju have?

24-Sju is Europe's largest unmanned grocery chain, with more than 130 stores across Sweden. They run in standard, kiosk and XL-kiosk franchise formats, each operated by a local entrepreneur but powered by the same StoreTech platform.

How do you get into a 24-Sju store?

You enter by scanning a BankID QR code at the door. The StoreTech door control system verifies your identity and unlocks. Inside, you self-scan your items at a kiosk and pay by card or Swish, with no cashier involved at any point.

Why are 24-Sju stores unmanned?

Removing staff removes the largest recurring cost of running a grocery shop. That low operating cost makes a viable store possible in small rural towns where a traditional supermarket could not survive, which is central to 24-Sju's mission of keeping the Swedish countryside supplied.

Who builds the technology behind 24-Sju?

Things at Web, a digital engineering company in Lidköping, builds and operates the StoreTech platform through Store Tech Scandinavia AB. Contact the team to discuss unmanned retail or IoT solutions for your own concept.