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1.3 million people in the Netherlands are older than 75 years — and one large supermarket chain is making sure they’re not getting too lonely in their elder years.

The Dutch government with its campaign (运动), “One Against Loneliness”, has encouraged organizations, towns, companies, and individuals to find solutions. Jumbo, the second largest Dutch supermarket chain, is doing its part with creative chat checkouts (付款台).

The idea for the “Kletskassa”, which translates to “chat checkout”, started more than two years ago — and in the summer of 2019 the first Kletskassa was opened in Vlijmen in Noord-Brabant.

This resulted in many positive reactions from customers — and now Jumbo is swelling the project further: By this time next year, there will be chat checkouts in 200 stores across the country where more people can go for a conversation. When choosing the stores, areas where loneliness is a major factor are carefully considered.

Colette Cloosterman-van Eerd, CCO of Jumbo and the driving force behind the campaign against loneliness, is closely involved (参与) in the project. She said, “Many people, especially the elderly, sometimes feel lonely. As a family business and supermarket chain, we are at the heart of society.”

“Our stores are an important meeting place for many people and we want to play a role in identifying and reducing loneliness. We do this in various ways, including our Kletskassas. We are proud that many of our cashiers like to take a seat behind a Kletskassa. They support the project and want to help people to make real contact with them out of interest.”

“It is a small action, but very valuable, especially in a world that is digitizing (数字化) and getting faster and faster.”