Unmanned convenience stores are on the rise

TOKYO >> Major convenience store operators are gradually increasing the number of stores with unmanned payment systems in the face of a continued labor shortage as economic activity recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The companies aim to reduce the burden on store employees by eliminating cashier duties.

In October, Lawson’s unmanned-payment store, Lawson Go, opened in the Mitsubishi Shokuhin Co. headquarters building in Bunkyo ward in Tokyo. Customers register their credit card information in advance on a dedicated smartphone app and enter the store by scanning the app’s QR code.

Artificial intelligence tracks the products customers select based on information from cameras mounted on the ceiling and weight sensors on the shelves. Customers’ registered cards are charged when they leave the store.

The store’s sales floor is shy of 120 square feet — about one-eighth the size of a standard store — and sells about 170 items, including rice balls, boxed lunches and beverages.

The store is open only to Mitsubishi Shokuhin employees. Currently, Lawson Inc. hopes to open more Lawson Go stores, mainly at sites where customers can be limited, such as at hotels and high-rise condominiums.

FamilyMart Co. also began operating unmanned-payment stores using a similar system in March, with AI identifying the products selected. Customers pay at a self-checkout counter.

The company plans to expand the system to a total of 1,000 stores by the end of February 2025.

The industry’s labor shortage was temporarily eased by the influx of personnel from restaurants and other businesses that were forced to shorten hours or close due to the pandemic. But with the increase in economic activity and rising numbers of visitors to the country, convenience stores have had difficulty securing enough workers.

The proliferation of the unmanned stores is being driven by improvements in technology as well.

Lawson began experimenting with a similar store in 2020 at the Fujitsu Ltd. office in Kawasaki.

After initially halting the full-scale introduction of the system due to the pandemic, the company changed course and moved forward after it saw the latest improvements in sensors and other equipment. At the Lawson Go store, the new system can deal with lightweight products weighing less than 2-1/2 ounces.

While it’s been said that the number of convenience stores in Japan peaked at 55,000, some believe that the unmanned system will be a powerful driver to open new stores because this business model calls for operating in a smaller space than conventional stores.

“Small unmanned-payment stores can be operated by a small number of people. Such stores have great potential to increase,” said an expert in the convenience store industry.