South Korea's retail and finance industries embrace unmanned services
- 6 years ago
Now to a sign of the changing times....
Self-serve checkouts are nothing new in most countries these days, but South Korea is taking it a step further,... trialing unmanned convenience stores.
It gives consumers the chance to grab what they want and go, but what does it mean for retail industry and the millions of people who work in that sector and others?
Lee Min-sun reports.
A handful of convenience stores in downtown Seoul are offering us a glimpse of the future.
At these stores, gone are the days where you have to pass your cash or card to an employee to buy your goods.
With the rapid advancement of technology and a government-mandated reduction in maximum working hours, a local retail chain has been test operating six unmanned convenience stores across the country since last year.
Customers merely need to tag or swipe their credit card to enter, pick up the products they want, and pay for them using the self-service checkout.
"It's convenient that I don't have to wait in line. I can just come in and buy anything I want right away.”
An employee comes to the store once a day to replenish the fresh food products, but the rest of the time, it's completely unattended.
"I just bought this bottle of water from this convenience store without interacting with anyone. There’s no one in the store, but surveillance cameras are on 24 hours a day for safety and security."
South Korea's financial sector has also been embracing this trend of unmanned services.
This bank operates smart kiosks at unmanned branches where customers can do things they normally had to do at the counter during business hours.
"This is my first time coming here. I tried the biometric verification and it's really great."
Customers can open a bank account, receive a new debit card and apply for internet banking services with a few clicks,... even at night or on weekends.
Unmanned services seem to be here to stay in various industries.
"In the short term, stores will shift toward an unmanned model, allowing customers to come in and get products or services any time they want. Replenishing products will be automated soon as well. Eventually, we'll have automated mobile stores where the store comes to the customers."
Job losses at stores are inevitable as the unmanned stores don't need employees present to function.
But experts say there will be greater demand for specialized jobs to develop and support high-tech operations for use behind the scenes.
Lee Min Sun, Arirang News.
Self-serve checkouts are nothing new in most countries these days, but South Korea is taking it a step further,... trialing unmanned convenience stores.
It gives consumers the chance to grab what they want and go, but what does it mean for retail industry and the millions of people who work in that sector and others?
Lee Min-sun reports.
A handful of convenience stores in downtown Seoul are offering us a glimpse of the future.
At these stores, gone are the days where you have to pass your cash or card to an employee to buy your goods.
With the rapid advancement of technology and a government-mandated reduction in maximum working hours, a local retail chain has been test operating six unmanned convenience stores across the country since last year.
Customers merely need to tag or swipe their credit card to enter, pick up the products they want, and pay for them using the self-service checkout.
"It's convenient that I don't have to wait in line. I can just come in and buy anything I want right away.”
An employee comes to the store once a day to replenish the fresh food products, but the rest of the time, it's completely unattended.
"I just bought this bottle of water from this convenience store without interacting with anyone. There’s no one in the store, but surveillance cameras are on 24 hours a day for safety and security."
South Korea's financial sector has also been embracing this trend of unmanned services.
This bank operates smart kiosks at unmanned branches where customers can do things they normally had to do at the counter during business hours.
"This is my first time coming here. I tried the biometric verification and it's really great."
Customers can open a bank account, receive a new debit card and apply for internet banking services with a few clicks,... even at night or on weekends.
Unmanned services seem to be here to stay in various industries.
"In the short term, stores will shift toward an unmanned model, allowing customers to come in and get products or services any time they want. Replenishing products will be automated soon as well. Eventually, we'll have automated mobile stores where the store comes to the customers."
Job losses at stores are inevitable as the unmanned stores don't need employees present to function.
But experts say there will be greater demand for specialized jobs to develop and support high-tech operations for use behind the scenes.
Lee Min Sun, Arirang News.