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Digital Responsibility

As an industry pioneer in online grocery shopping, the REWE Group is driving digitalisation in marketing, sales, purchasing and logistics. For us, the development and use of complex technologies comes with a special responsibility. We are actively shaping the digital future in dialogue with policymakers, businesses, associations, social organisations, scientists and customers.

Many business areas at the REWE Group have embraced digitalisation for optimising processes, improving customer service or introducing innovative payment methods, for example. While technological progress is an important part of this, ethical and sustainability considerations are central to the REWE Group’s sense of responsibility. We are committed to ensuring that digitalisation and responsibility go hand in hand, without forgetting the human dimension.

Very early on, we looked at the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence. Three years ago, we became one of the first companies in the retail sector to publish an “AI Manifesto” , which provides concrete recommendations for our developers when developing and using the relevant applications – and expressly takes ethical considerations into account.

Christoph Eltze, Member of the Management Board – Chief Digital and Technology Officer

Portrait of Christoph Eltze the REWE Group Chief Digital and Technology Officer

Christoph Eltze, Member of the Management Board – Chief Digital and Technology Officer

  • A focus on the responsible use of data

    Compliance with data protection laws is a given at the REWE Group. We have gone one step further by making the careful handling of personal data an integral part of our Code of Conduct. We also actively engage in public discussion about the legal framework for data protection.

    At the REWE Group, we work closely with business partners and service providers to leverage the growing amount of data and thus better understand our business and predict future developments. Handling customer and employee data responsibly and with minimal data collection is particularly important to us.

  • Through demand-driven service offerings and more efficient, sustainable processes, we want to help shape the future of the retail sector. This includes being open to new technologies. We are often pioneers in this regard. Our innovative store formats, such as Pick&Go, and our pilot projects, for example with Catch, harness the latest technologies and AI applications without losing sight of our principles. After two tests with hybrid shops in Cologne and Berlin, REWE Pick&Go has reached the next milestone and opened the first fully autonomous REWE store in Munich’s city centre. With the Pick&Go hybrid store format, customers can choose to pay for their purchases at a traditional staffed checkout or self-checkout or to use the Pick&Go checkout-free process.

  • Retail of the future

    With 16 dedicated food fulfilment centres and over 3,300 employees, the REWE delivery service is the largest food delivery service in Germany. Offering low delivery fees, very fast delivery and a strong focus on regional products, the REWE delivers in more than 90 cities and surrounding areas throughout Germany. As a pioneer and market leader, we continue to develop our range of over 15,000 products and our services in line with the specific and ever-changing needs of our customers.

    The REWE collection service is the largest retail grocery “click & collect” service in Germany, with over 1,900 participating stores – that’s more than half of all REWE supermarkets – and more to come. We continue to develop our offerings by trialling new concepts and innovative pilot projects, especially in the areas of mobility, sustainability and digitalisation.

We deliver.

With REWE’s delivery service, customers in 90 cities and nearby areas can order groceries online and have them delivered to their doorstep.

  • From tourism…

    Besides being important for the REWE Group’s retail network, comprehensive omnichannel offerings that include both online and offline channels are also vital for our tourism division. The DERTOUR travel agencies, for example, are already successfully using artificial intelligence (AI) to swiftly create individualised holiday offers and customer bookings, relieve staff by handling standardised enquiries and improve customer service by responding in real time. Human customer service remains important, but AI and models like ChatGPT complement this service and help employees connect brick-and-mortar stores with online sales.

  • …to logistics

    Artificial intelligence is also playing an increasingly important role in logistics, for example in warehouse automation. The new, fully automated “RE D 39” distribution centre in Magdeburg has raised the bar in this area by introducing 50 per cent automated warehouse processes to streamline the supply of goods. Under this innovative concept, 50 per cent of the range is picked automatically, while the remaining 50 per cent is packed manually, making possible a more ergonomically designed workplace. AI-powered algorithms are also used to further improve efficiency and ergonomics.

The images on this page were partly generated with AI.

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