Unmanned Supermarkets：The New Tech Trend

Stores developed by Chinese tech firms increase convenience for shoppers

At the Second Taobao Maker Festival in July 2017， Alibaba grabbed the headlines with its unmanned convenience store， known as Taocafe. Customers can enter the store by scanning a QR code with their smartphone， and after choosing the products they want to purchase， they simply walk through the exit， and the payments for their purchases are automatically deducted from their Alipay accounts.

A cashier is not needed， as the barcodes of purchased items are read by the tag reader installed in the doorway. Meanwhile， sensors and cameras in the shopping area generate data and improve customer insights through smart technologies， including facial recognition and self-learning.

As artificial intelligence evolves， e-commerce can now be considered an ordinary form of shopping. Unmanned stores are the new fad， offering improved services and greater convenience than their manned peers.

Apart from Taocafe， Alibaba has also opened the Hema grocery chain， fully integrating the online and offline experience. It allows customers to browse and choose fresh foods offline， place orders through an app， and have their purchases delivered to their door within 30 minutes. On June 9， the first Hema store in Beijing opened， following those already opened in Shanghai and Ningbo. Located on Chaoyang Road in Beijing’s Chaoyang District， it has a floorspace of more than 10，000 square meters， offering more than 3，000 fresh food items. Unlike in conventional grocery stores， Hema customers can both purchase seafood and have it cooked on-site.

Hema also has price advantages. Its Boston lobster is no more expensive than those sold in the United States. What’s more， it sells soilless vegetables， offering customers maximum freshness as the plants they bring home are “alive”.

Amazon also runs an unmanned store， known as Amazon Go. First opened last December， Amazon Go requires shoppers to scan their smartphones upon entering the store， and the company's \"just walk out\" technology will detect when products are taken off shelves， keeping track of what is in the virtual cart through the customer’s smartphone. Upon completing their shopping， customers can simply leave the store， with the bill charged to their Amazon account.

Deep Blue， a Chinese tech company， has developed a similar technology introduced at the company’s Take Go grocery store. Instead of using their mobile phones， customers enter and leave the store and pay for their purchases by pressing their palms on a reader at the store’s entrance.

A Guangdong-based startup has also developed an unmanned convenience store， BingoBox， partnering with national retailers such as Auchan and RT-mart to open round-the-clock outlets. Customers scan their purchases at the checkout counter and pay using their mobile phones.