bk World’s SpaceStation Stuttgart, Germany
Company overview
SpaceStation by bk World is an automated retail concept developed by bk Group to provide convenient, 24/7 access to food, drinks and everyday essentials in locations where traditional retail formats are not viable. The concept was originally created to enhance the customer experience at EV charging parks, transforming charging time into a comfortable break with high-quality convenience retail.
bk Group introduced the first bk World site four years ago in Endsee, Germany, next to a Tesla charging park with 20 charging points. Today, the company operates 143 locations across Europe for leading charge point operators including Tesla, EnBW, Ionity, Fastned, Electra and E.ON. A further 204 locations are planned across 11 European countries within the next 30 months, reflecting the rapid growth of electric mobility and the need for new retail solutions that support this infrastructure.
At the heart of the concept is the bk Robotic Shop, a fully automated retail system that can store and dispense up to 1,000 food and non-food products. Customers can access chilled goods, snacks, drinks and even freshly prepared hot meals within minutes.
By combining robotics, modular design and contactless retail, SpaceStation delivers scalable, secure and highly efficient 24/7 retail, responding to rising customer expectations for speed, convenience and constant availability while addressing industry challenges such as labour shortages and increasing operating costs.
Set the Scene
The SpaceStation Stuttgart represents the first fully indoor implementation of bk World’s automated 24/7 convenience retail concept in an urban environment. Located in Stuttgart’s vibrant Heusteigviertel district, the site demonstrates how unattended retail technology can provide reliable round-the-clock access to everyday products in dense city neighborhoods.
The location offers a fully automated shopping experience. Customers place orders via large digital terminals in a modern lounge-style environment and receive their products within seconds through the integrated robotic dispensing system. The concept enables secure, contactless purchasing at any time of day, including age-restricted products through automated verification.
The assortment combines on-the-go convenience with everyday essentials, including sandwiches, snacks, smoothies, beverages, basic groceries such as pasta, milk and eggs, as well as selected drugstore items. Complementary automated solutions such as a pizza station and premium coffee machine further enhance the offering.
Operational efficiency is ensured through robotic storage, automated picking and real-time inventory management, while on-site service, replenishment and maintenance are handled by bk World’s dedicated operations team.
By combining robotics, modular retail technology and a hospitality-inspired environment, SpaceStation Stuttgart demonstrates a scalable model for future urban retail, addressing rising customer expectations for convenience, 24/7 availability and frictionless self-service.
Innovation Overview
SpaceStation is a smart, fully automated retail concept that redefines how convenience retail can operate in locations where traditional stores are not economically viable. At its core is the bk Robotic Shop, an advanced robotic retail system that stores, manages and dispenses up to 1,000 products in seconds, enabling a secure, fully unattended 24/7 shopping experience.
The innovation combines robotic storage, automated product picking, digital ordering terminals and real-time inventory management into a single modular retail solution. Customers can quickly order food, drinks and everyday essentials via intuitive touch terminals and receive their items contactlessly within seconds. Automated age verification enables the compliant sale of restricted products without staff on site.
The concept was inspired by two major shifts in retail and mobility: the rapid growth of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, where customers spend waiting time on-site, and the increasing demand for convenient, always-available retail services in urban and mobility environments.
For bk World, SpaceStation supports the broader goal of creating smart service hubs around mobility and high-frequency locations, while significantly improving operational efficiency for operators through reduced staffing requirements and automated inventory management.
The innovation therefore combines customer engagement, in-store intelligence and operational efficiency, enabling scalable retail that meets modern expectations for speed, convenience and 24/7 accessibility.
Challenge & Opportunity
The innovation was driven by a clear gap in both mobility infrastructure and urban convenience retail. As electric vehicle charging networks expand rapidly across Europe, drivers increasingly spend 15–30 minutes at charging locations that often lack adequate food, beverage or convenience retail options. Traditional retail formats struggle to operate profitably in these environments due to limited space, unpredictable demand patterns and high operating costs.
At the same time, cities face a growing demand for round-the-clock access to everyday essentials, particularly in residential neighborhoods and high-traffic locations where conventional stores cannot economically operate 24/7.
A major barrier in both contexts is the cost and availability of staff. Operating small-format retail locations with extended opening hours is increasingly difficult due to rising labour costs and workforce shortages. As a result, many potential retail opportunities remain underserved.
SpaceStation was developed to address this challenge by creating a fully automated retail model that delivers convenient 24/7 access to food, drinks and everyday products without requiring on-site staff.
By combining robotics, automated inventory management and modular retail technology, the concept enables operators to serve mobility hubs, urban neighborhoods, and other high-frequency locations efficiently while meeting modern customer expectations for speed, convenience and constant availability.
Partnerships & Ecosystem Collaboration
SpaceStation was developed through close collaboration between bk World’s in-house concept, operations and engineering teams and a focused ecosystem of specialist partners.
On the technology side, automation components and control elements from partners such as Festo supported the reliable movement and handling of products inside the robotic system, while Adyen enabled a seamless, cashless payment experience that fits the speed and simplicity customers expect from a 24/7 format.
Beyond core technology, the wider ecosystem around bk World was equally important. Existing relationships with leading mobility and site partners across Europe helped the team test the concept in real operating environments, learn quickly and adapt the model to different customer missions. This combination of internal know-how, specialist technology and operational feedback was critical in turning the concept from a technical idea into a robust retail format.
Setup & Early Experiments
The first phase of development started with pilot locations in the EV charging environment, where bk World could observe a very specific customer need: people had dwell time on site, but very limited access to food, drinks and everyday essentials. Early pilots were used to validate the complete unattended retail journey, including digital ordering, cashless payment, robotic dispensing, replenishment cycles and remote monitoring.
These first sites in Sénas (France) and Villagonzalo (Spain) generated valuable operational data on peak times, product mix, service intervals and customer behaviour. The team used these learnings to refine assortment planning, improve picking logic and define which products work best in a compact robotic warehouse.
Just as important, the pilots proved that customers were willing to trust a fully automated retail experience when it is fast, intuitive and reliable. Those insights created the foundation for transferring the concept into indoor urban retail.
Digital & Data Enablement
Technology and data are not an add-on in SpaceStation; they are the operating model. The customer journey is fully digital, from product selection at the terminal to contactless payment and automated product handover. Behind the interface, the robotic warehouse manages storage, picking and dispensing in seconds, while real-time inventory visibility helps ensure product availability and supports efficient replenishment.
Data is used continuously to improve both customer experience and operating efficiency. Sales patterns, basket combinations, time-of-day demand and stock movement help the team optimise assortment, product placement and refill cycles. Automated age verification also enables compliant sales of restricted products without on-site staff, expanding the commercial potential of the format.
In practice, this means SpaceStation can run with a high level of precision on a compact footprint: fewer manual processes, faster service and better decision-making based on live operational data rather than assumptions.
Scaling the Innovation
Scaling the innovation required more than replicating hardware; it required a repeatable operating model. After proving the concept in mobility environments, bk World standardised the core building blocks: modular store design, robotic storage and dispensing, a digital ordering and payment journey, replenishment routines, remote monitoring and on-site caretaking processes. This made it possible to adapt the concept to different site types without redesigning the model from scratch each time.
The opening of the indoor SpaceStation in Stuttgart marked an important next step because it showed that the concept can move beyond charging parks into dense urban neighbourhoods. The format is intentionally modular, allowing it to be integrated into existing spaces or developed as a standalone concept depending on footfall, mission and footprint.
Operationally, the team has built clear responsibilities around service, filling, hygiene and technical maintenance, which is essential for maintaining customer trust in an unattended 24/7 environment.
Operational Transformation
SpaceStation changes daily operations by moving the store’s core processes from manual front-of-house work into an automated back-end system. Product storage, picking and dispensing are handled by robotics, while ordering and payment are completed digitally by the customer. This significantly reduces the dependency on on-site staffing, enables consistent service quality throughout the day and night, and allows retail to operate profitably in locations that would be difficult to staff continuously.
The model also improves operational discipline. Because inventory is digitally tracked in real time, replenishment can be planned more accurately and stock issues can be identified earlier. The compact layout increases the productivity of each square metre, while secure dispensing helps reduce theft and product tampering.
At the same time, bk World still maintains quality through dedicated service and replenishment teams, ensuring that automation does not mean lower standards. In effect, SpaceStation creates a leaner, more responsive store model designed for modern convenience missions.
Setbacks & Pivots
One of the biggest lessons was that building a technically functional robotic store is only part of the challenge; building customer trust and the right retail mission is equally important. Early on, the team had to learn how to balance automation efficiency with a shopping experience that still feels intuitive, welcoming and relevant. Assortment planning also required iteration, because a product range that works at a charging location does not automatically fit an urban neighbourhood mission.
The concept therefore evolved through testing and adaptation. Product ranges were refined, the user journey was simplified and the overall environment was developed to feel more like a modern convenience destination rather than a machine room. Another important learning was operational: unattended retail still needs disciplined service, cleaning and replenishment processes to protect quality perception. These pivots strengthened the model by making it more customer-centred and more transferable across different site types.
Impact & Results
SpaceStation has already created clear business value by proving that convenience retail can operate 24/7 on a compact footprint with minimal front-of-house labour. The concept extends trading hours far beyond those of a traditional staffed store, improves the commercial use of sites that previously had limited retail potential and gives customers fast, round-the-clock access to food, drinks and essentials. For operators, the model combines higher availability with a more controlled and measurable operating structure.
Scalability & Future Potential
The future potential of SpaceStation is significant because the concept answers a structural retail need, not a temporary trend. Many locations have customer demand for food, drinks and everyday essentials but cannot support a conventional store model on labour and cost economics. A compact, robotic, 24/7 format offers a scalable alternative for mobility hubs, residential districts, travel locations, supermarkets, petrol stations, campuses, clinics and other high-frequency environments.
The next stage of development is to replicate the model across more indoor and hybrid sites while continuing to refine assortment, automation and service standards. Because the system is modular, the concept can be tailored to different footprints and local missions without losing its core operational logic. Beyond bk World’s own rollout, the model also has relevance for the wider retail industry as operators look for ways to extend access, improve space productivity and maintain service quality despite labour constraints.
