Because the majority of elderly people live alone or in retirement communities, loneliness is a significant problem that affects people all over the globe.

One of the things that they are looking forward to is going food shopping, something they are unable to do at busy times for fear of holding up the line at the checkout counters.

The majority of elderly adults want a shopping experience that is both less hectic and more fun.

They want to shop in as much comfort as possible while also benefiting from the opportunity to engage in social contact with both other customers and store workers. They are able to maintain a feeling of autonomy by the participation in activities such as these.

As a result of this, Jumbo, a significant supermarket chain located in the Netherlands that has more than 700 shops, brought the idea of Kletskassa to its locations.

The phrase literally translates to “chat checkout,” and it refers to a specialized line for elderly or senior customers at retail establishments. In this line, the elderly or senior customers can check out their purchases without feeling rushed, and they can even have an unhurried conversation with the cashier.

“Slow lanes” were implemented at Jumbo shops during the summer of 2019 in order to lend support to the One Against Loneliness program that was launched by the Dutch government.

In the Netherlands, there are 1.3 million residents who are older than 75 years of age, in addition, 33% of people in the Netherlands have reported feeling at least somewhat lonely.

The slow lane is not a totally novel idea, despite the fact that its implementation at a supermarket may come as a surprise.

A relaxed checkout line was also established in 2019 by the regional supermarket chain Maiya Takizawa in Takizawa, Japan. This was done to accommodate the city’s growing elderly population.