[Unmanned Era] Unmanned Payment Starbucks in New York... Sensor Payment Store in London

<strong>The World Embraces Automation Trend<br><br>Pioneer of Unmanned Stores ‘Amazon Go’... 89% Customer Satisfaction<br>Changes Begin in Europe... Consumer Motion & Shelf Weight Detection<br>China’s Alibaba Operates ‘Tao Cafe’<br>JD.com Opens Unmanned Store ‘Ochama’ in the Netherlands

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The wave of automation is sweeping across the globe. In the retail industry, which has traditionally focused on face-to-face services, the existing paradigm is breaking down, and a rapid shift to contactless operations is underway. Global retail giants are expanding various unmanned stores such as large supermarkets, convenience stores, and coffee shops.

According to industry sources on the 22nd, the pioneer of unmanned stores is Amazon Go, operated by the American retail giant Amazon. Amazon Go was first piloted in 2016 at Amazon’s headquarters building in Seattle for employees, then opened to the general public in 2018, and currently operates about 30 stores across the United States. The core technology of Amazon Go is the ‘Just Walk Out’ technology, which combines computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning algorithms. Simply put, when customers scan the Amazon application (app) or a credit card once upon entering the store, they can pick up items and leave without stopping to pay. Cameras and sensors inside the store automatically detect the items the customer has selected and complete the payment.

Customer satisfaction with Amazon Go is quite high. Last year, PeopleSay, a U.S. public opinion research firm, conducted an online survey of more than 30,000 American adults, and 89% of consumers who used Amazon Go responded that it was ‘excellent’ or ‘good.’ Sixty percent of respondents expressed a desire for an Amazon Go store to open in their neighborhood.

Starbucks opened a cashier-less takeout store in Manhattan, New York, last November in collaboration with Amazon Go. This store adopted the unmanned payment system Just Walk Out, where only baristas who prepare drinks are present, and there are no cashiers.

Changes are also beginning in Europe. Aldi UK opened an unmanned store called ‘Aldi Shop & Go’ in London. Customers enter using a QR code, and products are identified and paid for through consumer motion and shelf weight detection sensors. Israeli retailer Marksaney Hasuk introduced an image recognition payment system that uses high-performance cameras to identify the products customers place in their carts and supports payment.

Chinese tech companies are also expanding unmanned stores. Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce company, opened the unmanned convenience store ‘Tao Cafe’ in 2017 and operates ‘Hema Xiansheng,’ a specialty unmanned store for fresh seafood and vegetables. JD.com, China’s second-largest online shopping mall, opened the unmanned store ‘Ocha Ma’ in Leiden and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Here, when customers order groceries, cosmetics, and other products via an app, robots stationed in the store deliver the products to the customers.

Japanese convenience store operator FamilyMart plans to open about 1,000 unmanned stores equipped with digital technologies such as AI cameras and shelf weight detection sensors by the end of February 2025.

At this year’s world’s largest electronics and IT exhibition, CES 2022, unmanned checkout counters and delivery drones were hot topics. In particular, the unmanned checkout counter ‘AI Counter’ introduced by Infinic won the CES Innovation Award. Considering that personal electronic devices have traditionally won awards, this is a very unusual result, indicating the high market expectations for unmanned stores. At the international retail technology exhibition ‘EuroCIS 2022,’ held over four days starting May 31 in Germany, key themes include digital unmanned stores, information-based customer-centric services, data analysis through AI and machine learning, contactless payment, and the combination of online and offline sales. This year, 94 companies specializing in online and contactless payment systems and 48 companies in omnichannel and e-commerce are participating.

As unmanned stores spread worldwide, the related market is growing rapidly. According to market research firm MarketandMarkets, the unmanned checkout market is expected to grow from $2.5 billion (about 2.8 trillion KRW) in 2016 to $4.6 billion (about 5.2 trillion KRW) this year.

Professor Kim Kyung-ja of the Department of Consumer Studies at Catholic University said, “Unmanned stores like Amazon Go existed before COVID-19, and now this is a separate issue from the COVID-19 situation. Face-to-face services will remain only where essential, and a significant portion will be replaced by unmanned stores.”