On the 29. of November club event "Marketing Meets Science" of the Marketing Club Linz took place in cooperation with the Institute for Retailing, Sales and Marketing. This was also the third and last practical dialogue for this semester.

The content of the event was centered around the topic of "unmanned retail formats" - a solution for the problem of local supply, or the "shakeout" on the periphery of towns and cities?

At the beginning of the event, Ms. Sabine Benoit (University of Surrey) gave exciting insights and perspectives on unmanned or autonomous stores on an international level. Afterwards, Ms. Teresa Schwendtner from the IHaM Institute for Retail, Sales and Marketing presented project findings on external effects of "unmanned stores" using the "Unibox" as a practical example.Finally, the opportunities and risks of "unmanned grocery stores" from the point of view of business and local communities were highlighted in a podium discussion. We had the pleasure to welcome Mr. Andreas Haider (Managing Director of Unimarkt), Dr. Manfred Zöchbauer (Managing Director of the Trade Division of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce) and Mr. Thomas Ahörndl (Mayor of Dorf an der Pram, location of a "Unibox").

We would like to thank all participants and spectators for the smooth handling of the event. Furthermore, we would like to thank for the many exciting questions from the audience and the vibrant discussion.