Digital shopping city
Model project
When it comes to shopping, the city of Hof occupies a top position: On the one hand, it can boast numerous beautiful, long-established, owner-operated stores, and on the other hand, it is far ahead when it comes to digitalization as a shopping city. Small boutiques, butcher shops and bakeries that shine with culinary craftsmanship instead of mass production - all of these can be found in the center of Hof in unusually large numbers and of exceptionally high quality.
"That's what makes Hof special: The retail culture with small but special stores, where you can often find even better and, above all, more extraordinary offers than on the Internet!"
As one of 8 cities, Hof has been awarded the model project "Digital Shopping City" in 2019. The funding for this project allows existing structures to be further expanded in the area of digitization - and there is a lot that the Saale city can already draw on or that can be expanded. The city of Hof is the only city in Germany to have employed its own blogger since 2017. Together with the city's business development department, she is setting up the platform www.einkaufen-in-hof.de and regularly feeding it with blog posts about retail-led businesses and niches in the city.
In the future
This is what we would like to achieve
The next step, after we have reached people with the shopping-in-your-yard page, is to provide them with yard info that goes beyond the stores' assortment and opening hours. In the future, visitors will also be shown parking options, festivals and beautiful places in the city. In this way, we are already laying the foundations for the technology of the future, such as autonomous driving.
In order to achieve this information networking, it is important that every single retailer participates and constantly keeps their information on Google Maps up to date and keeps expanding it. In this regard, the city supports retailers with seminars in cooperation with the digital start-up center "Einstein1".
The HOF MONEY
Another "digital building block" is the Hofer gift vouchers. These have been a real success model since their introduction in 2019. Almost half a million euros were converted in 2021 alone. It was therefore time to take the plastic money into a new era.
The HOF MONEY can now be topped up with up to 100 euros and then also debited with small amounts. Sometimes a quick coffee, then something to wear - until the credit is used up.
The HOF GELD is available at the tourist information and can be redeemed in over 80 stores, restaurants and leisure facilities in Hof - an ideal gift for young and old!
More information can be found here.
Your own store
Hof supports you with your business idea
The city of Hof also supports the establishment of new businesses in the city center. In this way, it enables founders, artists and anyone who wants to open a business to try out their business idea for a few weeks at favorable conditions in empty spaces in the city center before opening a permanent business in the city on the Saale.
