Imagine the grocery store of the future.
A fully automatic store without employees, without lines, without a checkout, without cash - everything is managed electronically.
What sounds like something out of a science fiction movie is already reality in China!
The store offers a lot of benefits compared to regular stores - it's open 24/7, there is no waiting in line and you don't need to carry any money with you.
Also, the store is mobile - it can be placed anywhere, offering a huge advantage for franchise partners.
Check out the "BingoBox", China's first unmanned convenience store:
At the end of last year, Amazon actually unveiled a similar concept for their Amazon Go stores - but ended up postponing them.
In China on the other hand, "BingoBox" is already fully operational: it's an unmanned convenience store, entirely automated and powered by WeChat.
To enter the store, the customer scans a QR code on the door via the WeChat app.
It is required that the customer has a WeChat account - because he can actually pay for his groceries with that account later on as well.
The store ("box") is approximately 10 square meters large.
Featured are packaged groceries and beverages, everyday items, toiletries, and also a small selection of fresh foods like bread, vegetables, fruits and more.
The selection is similar to that of a 7-11 store, but 20-30% cheaper (since there is no additional cost for staff.)
To pay, you scan the barcodes of your items, and are given a QR code.
You can then scan that QR code either with your WeChat app or with the Alipay App, the payment system of the largest Chinese retailer Alibaba.
By scanning that QR code, the amount automatically gets billed from your account - and you're good to go!
Now in case you're thinking about security issues in an unmanned store: there are measures for that too.
In-store cameras are checking whether you actually paid for the items you're holding when leaving the store.
Also, the BingoBox is aware of the customer's full name since he entered with a verified WeChat account - therefore, he can be held accountable if he tries to steal something.
A facial recognition software also analyzes the customer to make sure no unregistered users have entered the store.
Although there is no staff present at the store, a support center can be reached through video chat from a screen inside.
Everyday, one member of staff visits the store to re-stock and re-organize the items - which only takes about 20 minutes, according to BingoBox.
The company has received $15 million in funding and cooperates with French supermarket chain Auchan (which is very popular in China) to stock the store inventory.
What do you think about these unmanned stores - convenient or problematic?
© Sirwinchester
I appreciate that development (and automation in general) ... Humans shouldn't need to do boring, repetitive activities like working in a checkout counter.
Or walking? Sleeping? Eating? Having sex? I guess, those are all repetitive actions we do every single day.
You are free to consider sex as boring (I mentioned 'boring', didn't I) as sitting in a checkout center, but I won't.
I'm too lazy to actually go out for food. Can't it just come to me? I want subscription based food.
I second that! Who wants to do all that work.
At some point, everything will come to us. I hope we remember how to exercise.
Why stop there? Downloadable food would be the s*** lol
Heck, with 3D bio-printers, that might actually be a thing that happens. In this lifetime no less.
Darn it! I guess bagging groceries for a living is out of the question :) LOL
Do we really go to grocery shops? i guess people will become lazy and everyone will uses quick delivery by online. :-)
Hi I really enjoy this post very... good information. A big upvote from me 🤓
Well it is really very convenient @sirwinchester, but just think the amount of people who will be jobless if this is adopted on a large scale! Scary!
I'm hoping for an unmanned Best Buy. I hate being bothered by the sales person and being pressured into buying the warranty. Its so awkward when you say no. They look all mad when they're ringing you up.
Thanks for information . We need more people like you .
Great dish. Seems really delicious.
@sirwinchester
It seems that our generation will witness an unprecedented evolution in the history of humanity. About the other generations, I'm afraid to think!
I love the idea but fear that all the minimum wage jobs will soon be replaced by automation.
Very cool post thanks @sirwinchester
For me, I'll say it's convenient. Technology has come to stay. Though I have some reservations with having an absolutely unmanned store, but it's still okay. Hope the store is hack-proof? Believe me, if a hacker gains unauthorized access, the outcome won't be too good.
Nice Post, Upvoted ya. Tech Rules!!!
"Unmanned" is the keyword here....at the supermaket I do most of the shopping there's like 20-30 employees...what will happen to people like them when we get to have this kind of shop at every street corner?
Clearly robotics are the future. We can say it is progress and at the same time we can see there are no workers....what then?
I reckon, there will be no jobs any more for humans, except to sit, do nothing all day long, just being lazy af and completely useless.
That's not the American way....this is what we need say...to push back. This is not who Americans are IMHO.
i think the world is going so so fast in the field of technology and china is making so much progress and japan also in the field of technology specifically so i think it will be a great impact in positive sense on the people of this planet because due to this technology so many things are now easy and things are going trsnsform so much due to this technology and i hope the world will be more peacefull in future and it is also a duty of us to utilize this technologyand use it in better way and better sense, its agood post for those who didnot know about the economic and technol,ogical development in the world , thanks for sharing
I love the concept, and cheaper prices due to o staff is a nice bonus. However, for this to work in the US it would also have to have a gas station(hopefully charging stations soon) where you can fill up.
Definitely convenient, i can't believe it's actually up and running,very impressive.
I can see this being helpful and problematic, depending on the outcome of course. Where this could go wrong would be how fast the idea grows and if it starts taking over all grocery style stores. Instead of creating jobs this cuts the work down so much that if this became a widely used concept people all around the world could be put out of work. The pros to this would be just extra convenience for the customer...I myself am a night owl and often prefer shopping later when less people crowd the store and sometimes find myself unable to shop due to the later hour. So honestly it could be good but if used to much on a large scale it could be seriously bad for the lower class.
It's really interesting and maybe it's useful in some places, but I admit that I love to go in the grocery shop close to my home, where the employes smile to me and can give me some tips on the fresh fruits or on the best salami to buy ^_^
I like it as good as all your posts always connect me with the new technology! But what if someone who steals introduces the item into a bag or clothing? Lol
I invite you to go through my blog, maybe it's to your liking!
I love this. I used to sell scanning systems in New Zealand and introduced side scanning to the country. I tried to introduce self scanning, but the industry wasn't ready, they didn't trust their customers. I was just too early. This is cool!
As someone who used to work in retail, this could easily halt shop lifting. It's a major issue for grocery stores In my area.
On the flip side, there would also be a large deficit of the workforce!
It is quite amazing how everything in china is revolving around wechat. No privacy, but very convenient.
They are much ahead of the west.
Here it looks like digital payments with bitcoin will overtake the banks because it is just more convenient.
I think the adoption of bitcoin payments for everyday stuff in china will take longer, because the wechat system is just good already.
You mean I have to actually go to the store when Amazon will just deliver groceries to my front door? Is this how cave men used to live?
Agree self serve is going to be the future...... even fast food..
Sir Winchester great post. Upvoted, resteemed and followed
This post has been ranked within the top 10 most undervalued posts in the second half of Jul 22. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $56.00 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Jul 22 - Part II. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.
Just inching closer to one facet of the mark of the beast.
I read in Bloomberg recently there's lots push in China in the AI space.
I use Wechat but too bad the payment system is enabled enabled in Singapore.
This is really cool! I love that China does so much with mobile payments, but I wish they would allow foreigners to participate by linking to foreign bank accounts. Is there a map of where these stores are located?
I would love to see something like this come to NYC. That seems like the best place for a test.
That's pretty scary glimpse of the future my friend.
Hmm. This way lies the universal basic income.
Well, that or Mad Max: Grim Meathook Fury Road.
This is actually quite scary