Opened Unmanned Store to Save Labor Costs... Small Business Owners Sigh Over Rising Crime

Unmanned Store Theft Crimes Increase by 86%
Unmanned Stores Save Labor Costs but Security Remains a Blind Spot

Unmanned convenience store. Photo by Asia Economy DB.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] As unmanned stores increase due to rising labor costs and the impact of COVID-19, related crimes are continuing. Since there are no managers and the security systems are weak, these stores are defenseless against various crimes. With the rise in crimes targeting unmanned stores, self-employed business owners are expressing difficulties in managing their shops.

Recently, the trend toward unmanned operations to alleviate labor cost burdens has intensified. The unmanned store sector, which used to be limited to places like claw machine arcades or coin karaoke rooms, is expanding to industries such as laundromats, convenience stores, coffee shops, and study rooms.

In an era of high inflation and rising labor costs, the kiosk market is expected to accelerate its growth. Depending on the contract period, the rental cost for kiosks (unmanned ordering devices) averages around 100,000 KRW, and serving robots have monthly rental fees ranging from 500,000 to 1,000,000 KRW, making them significantly cheaper than labor costs. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) forecasts that the global kiosk market size will grow from $17.6 billion (approximately 23 trillion KRW) in 2020 to $33.9 billion (approximately 44 trillion KRW) by 2027.

However, as more stores convert to unmanned operations, related crimes are also increasing. Unmanned stores often lack managers and dedicated security systems, making them vulnerable to crime. Criminals take advantage of the absence of owners to steal goods or damage facilities. In some cases, runaway youths or homeless people occupy unmanned stores.

Earlier, on the 11th, two teenagers targeting only unmanned stores were caught by the police for stealing millions of won. The suspects, aged 15 and 14, are accused of visiting 21 unmanned stores in the Gwanak-gu and Geumcheon-gu areas of Seoul over two months, using cutting tools to dismantle payment terminals and stealing about 5 million KRW in cash. The crimes reportedly took only about three minutes each.

A consumer is using a kiosk at a fast food restaurant in Seoul. Photo by Asia Economy DB

Security company S-1 analyzed big data from 850,000 customer sites over two and a half years, from January 2020 to last month, through its Crime Prevention Research Institute. The analysis showed that theft crimes in unmanned stores increased by 85.7% last year compared to 2020.

Looking at theft crime rates by industry in unmanned stores, claw machine arcades had the highest rate at 35%, followed by coin photo studios (22%) and coin laundromats (17%).

Some self-employed business owners who opened unmanned stores to reduce labor costs are sighing over the risk of crime. One self-employed person operating an unmanned accessory shop wrote on the online community "Because It's Painful, I'm a Boss" that "It has only been a month since opening, but a theft incident occurred. A student was carrying a handbag, hair clips, and masking tape, but only paid for the tape while slipping the other items into their own bag. I don't know how to respond. I'm worried this will happen repeatedly." There were also posts complaining about difficulties controlling customers who smoke or come to sleep inside the store.

In unmanned stores, since there are no managers, it is difficult to respond immediately to incidents such as property damage or disturbances. Even if CCTV is installed inside the store, it is hard to identify the culprit or track their whereabouts, making it difficult to resolve cases.

Experts predict that unmanned stores will continue to increase and emphasize the need to work on crime prevention. Professor Eunhee Lee of Inha University's Department of Consumer Studies said, "From a business owner's perspective, labor costs can be reduced, and from a consumer's perspective, products can be selected comfortably, so unmanned stores have many advantages. Therefore, the number of unmanned stores will continue to grow." She added, "However, since some customers commit crimes such as theft, alternatives to prevent this are necessary. Measures such as installing intelligent CCTV that can automatically detect crime scenes should be prepared."