An observation that was surprising to our own editors: a futuristic, cashier-less Aldi branch right in the city center of Utrecht – not a city with low real estate rents – where there was almost never a customer to be seen. It turned out that the people of Utrecht do not want or cannot do their shopping with a credit card at all. “It’s as if they haven’t done a basic customer survey. Hardly anyone in the Netherlands has a credit card with them. You’re not going to sell ice cream at the North Pole, are you?” said Philip Boontje from Utrecht, who was already amazed by the concept on social media.
From the perilous adventures of a missing parrot to the surprise of a cashier-less Aldi: this is what you enjoyed reading this year
