Singapore (Commonwealth Union)_With advancements in technology, it is now possible to patronise a store with no physical staff. Cheers already has a shop at Nanyang Technological University that permits customers to do just that.
And 7-Eleven is now jumping on that bandwagon.
In a Facebook post on Monday SMRT announced that retail space manager Stellar Lifestyle launched Hive 2.0, a retail innovation hub located at Esplanade MRT station on the Circle Line.
Under this is 7-Eleven’s first-ever self-checkout store in Singapore, which is aptly called 7-Eleven Shop & Go.
How does this happen? With the use of deep learning, smart cameras, and multi-sensor fusion technologies, shared Stellar Lifestyle in a press release.
Also read :
UK’s Scotch Whisky mounts a £71 billion boost
Customers need to tap their credit card to enter the store.
Then, when you are in the store, you need to pick out the item that you need and walk out and the amount will automatically be charged to your card as you leave.
According to an article by The Edge on 22nd January, a small fee is charged to verify the card, which could be used to offset the customer’s purchase, and the amount will be refunded if nothing is purchased.
There is a limit of five shoppers at a time, managing director of 7-Eleven Singapore, Serene Seow, told DigitalEdge, which is to ensure a comfortable shopping experience.
She added that they would continue to monitor and adjust this limit, if necessary.
The store will also run for a minimum time period of six months while 7-Eleven gathers and reviews feedback.
Self-checkout does create job loss in some stores though, especially stores that deal with a high volume of customers. Physical stores employ retail employees who educate and assist shoppers while maintaining the store’s appearance and inventory.
Theoretically, self-checkout machines could replace cashiers. But in practice, the demographic distribution in many Western countries is heavily dominated by the elderly. If consumers don’t accept the self-checkout machines, then the cashiers will not be replaced. Retailers will also have to work to control the amount of theft that could go on
