DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl brings daily news from The Netherlands in English

22 May 2025
Newsletter Donate Advertise
  • News
  • Life in the Netherlands
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
  • Search
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Art and culture
  • Sport
  • Europe
  • Society
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Housing
  • Education
  • News
    • Home
    • Economy
    • Art and culture
    • Sport
    • Europe
    • Society
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Education
  • Life in the Netherlands
    • Latest
    • Opinion
    • Books
    • Travel
    • 10 Questions
    • Learning Dutch
    • Inburgering with DN
    • Food & Drink
    • Ask us anything
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
    • Team
    • Donate
    • Advertise
    • Writing for Dutch News
    • Contact us
    • Privacy
    • Newsletter
  • Search

Jumbo opens ‘chat checkouts’ to combat loneliness among the elderly

September 28, 2021
The first Kletskassa is opened in Udenhout, Photo: Photo Republic / Marco De Swart
The first Kletskassa is opened in Udenhout, Photo: Photo Republic / Marco De Swart

Some 200 Jumbo supermarkets will be opening up tills where clients can stop for a chat rather than pay for their shopping as quickly as possible.

The first ‘Kletskassa’, or chat checkout, as it has been dubbed, was opened in 2019 in Vlijmen in Brabant. Its success prompted the group to plan for another 200 to be operative by this time next year, particularly in shops in areas where loneliness is an issue.

‘Many people, the elderly in particular, can feel lonely. As a family business and supermarket chain we have a central role in society. Our shops are a meeting place and that means we can do something to combat loneliness. The Kletskassa is just one of the things we can do,’ Jumbo CCO Colette Cloosterman-Van Eerd said.

The supermarket chat checkout is part of a health ministry programme to combat loneliness.  The Netherlands has some 1.3 million people over the age of 75, over half of whom have said they regularly feel lonely.

The initiative is aimed at picking up the signs of loneliness among the elderly early and inviting companies, organisations and local councils to work together to come up with creative solutions, such as the chat till.

‘We are proud our staff want to work the chat checkout, ‘Cloosterman-Van Eerd said. ‘They really want to help people and make contact with them. It’s a small gesture but it’s a valuable one, particularly in a world that is becoming more digital and faster.’

Apart from the till, a number of Jumbo supermarkets also introduced a ‘chat corner’ where locals come to have a coffee and a natter.

Share this article
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Copy URL
Society
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation
Latest
Show more
Fewer international students starting bachelor degrees in NL
MPs urge cabinet to join banned Pride march in Budapest
Dutch house prices up 10% on a year ago, latest figures show
Foundations and the future: what you need to think about
Highway to hell: confessions of a would-be Ring reveller
NewsHomeEconomyArt and cultureSportEuropeSocietyEnvironmentHealthHousingEducation
Life in the NetherlandsLatestOpinionBooksTravel10 QuestionsLearning DutchInburgering with DNFood & DrinkAsk us anything
About usTeamDonateAdvertiseWriting for Dutch NewsContact usPrivacyNewsletter
© 2025 DutchNews | Cookie settings

Help us to keep providing you information about coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days!

We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here.

The DutchNews.nl team

Donate now

Dutchnews Survey

Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey.

Take part now