With Amazon planning to open checkout-free Go stores in the UK, Rebecca Crook, chief growth officer at digital product and experience agency Somo, puts the spotlight on the other pioneering cashierless shops from across the world.

1. Tao Cafe (Alibaba), Hangzhou, China

  • QR codes/app
  • Facial recognition
  • Automatic payment

Tao Cafe

Alibaba is no stranger to ecommerce innovation, so its move into bricks-and-mortar retail was sure to be high-tech. In 2017, it launched Tao Cafe in Hangzhou, the capital of east China’s Zhejiang province. Though quite a small space – equipped for serving 50 customers at a time – the store offers beverages, fast food and snacks, targeting customers and commuters on the go. Prior to entering the store, customers must download the corresponding app, which generates a QR code to use to enter the store. Once inside, there is no need to scan items – customers simply select them from the shelf (slowly, so the system has time to confirm) and place them in their bag. To leave, customers pass through the ‘payments door’, which identifies them (facial-recognition technology has been tracking them during their time in the store), automatically scans products and charges an invoice to their account. Feedback from customers echoes the purpose of the store: hassle-free. There are still assistants in the store to help familiarise shoppers with how the cafe works, but a customer’s journey could be entirely contactless – ideal for when you are just popping in and out.

2. Jack & Jones, Shenzhen, China

  • Facial recognition
  • Automatic payment
  • Virtual assistants

Jack and Jones

One of the best uses of facial recognition in serving an end-to-end retail experience must surely be Jack & Jones in Shenzhen, China. At its grand opening in December 2017, the mass-market fashion brand was one of the first cashier-free smart-fashion stores in China. Powered by facial-recognition technology, provided by Tencent’s YouTu lab – one of the most advanced AI technology providers in China – the Jack & Jones store does not even require customers to bring a wallet or smartphone to shop there. Once they have completed the facial-recognition registration process in store, they are members of the ‘AI Club’, powered by WeChat. At the exit, customers use their face to complete the payment via WeChat Pay. Sales staff have also been replaced by tech – if customers want advice, they can receive customised recommendations virtually by machines in store. According to the company, on the first day the tech was put to use, the gross revenue from customers who paid via facial recognition accounted for more than 80% of turnover.

 3. 7-Eleven, Seoul, South Korea

  • Palm-vein scanner to pay

7-Eleven

Not comfortable with tech tracking your face? How about your palm instead? Partnering with Lotte Card and Lotte Data Communication, a 7-Eleven store in May 2017 became the first smart convenience store in Seoul to be equipped with a biopay system. Customers can scan their own hand to pay for items by being recognised by the veins in their palm. This technology was chosen over other types of biopay, such as iris or fingerprint recognition, to maximise convenience. Customers place their purchases on a conveyor belt at an unmanned counter, where the items are then scanned 360 degrees to locate their barcodes. The prices are then tallied and appear on a screen. The store also has other high-tech features, including a refrigerator that automatically opens and shuts, electronic price tags, a smart CCTV system and a smart cigarette vending machine. Palm-vein scanning offers an interesting alternative to facial recognition and could well be the future of payments across the world, with more banks and financial services experimenting with biometrics.

 4. Würth24, Germany

  • QR codes
  • Open 24 hours

Wurth 24

Würth24 in Germany is a 24-hour hardware store, which launched in April 2018 and offers the ultimate convenience to tradespeople: being able to shop hassle-free for supplies at any time of day. In the spirit of German efficiency, the store is open 24 hours a day Monday through Saturday, with no staff. Customers can enter the store at any time via QR code, scan their items and take their invoice. It’s ideal for traders and craftspeople, who sometimes need last-minute supplies and are often held back by the long and delayed supply-chain process for ordering materials. All goods are then placed on a conveyor belt at the staff-free checkout and automatically recorded by a scanner. At the exit, customers will receive a delivery note and are then billed for the amount due. It’s a payments process most tradespeople are used to, using technology that is familiar to them. The entire concept of the store is fit for purpose, and with 15 branches across the country it’s fair to say it’s a great success.

5. Drug Store (from beverage start-up Dirty Lemon), New York, US

  • Text message for payment
  • Heatmap trackers

Known for its high prices, text-message ordering and beauty claims, Dirty Lemon counts 100,000 customers for its beverage start-up brand. In September 2018, it thought to capitalise on this brand trust and loyalty by opening a vending machine-like store in Manhattan, called Drug Store. Operating on an honour system, customers are expected to text Dirty Lemon to say they have grabbed an item. A rep will then text back with a link to enter credit-card information to pay. A heatmap tracker monitors the footsteps of people walking in and out, and RFID technology in the coolers keeps track of inventory.The store also features a large, selfie-friendly mirror that reflects a wall of coolers and stark, black-and-white-striped penny tiles creeping across the high ceiling. While the technology does promote convenience and a frictionless experience, the concept is a little gimmicky and would ultimately fail for a lot of other brands who are thinking about giving it a go. A vending machine would be more viable.

6. Albert Heijn, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Electronic shelf labels
  • Automatic payment via app

Albert Heijn

Even the trusty shelf label is not exempt from digital innovation; they’re almost ubiquitous at convenience stores around Europe. But Albert Heijn, the Dutch supermarket chain, took it one step further and in summer 2018 used the technology to launch its first checkout-free store in Amsterdam. Customers can simply scan the in-store electronic shelf labels with their Albert Heijn card as they shop, which registers the item and places it in their digital basket. Customers then pick up the physical item from the shelf and place it in their bag. Payment is completed through the retailer’s smartphone app. While not particularly groundbreaking technology, its innovation for convenience and ease of use is ideal for shoppers on the go.

Comparing checkout-free stores in Europe, China and Korea, it’s obvious that the East Asian countries are light-years ahead in terms of technological innovation, rollout and adoption.

Security concerns around facial recognition and tracking technology – particularly in the UK – will undoubtedly hamper any prospects of the same types of technology being adopted here in our retail stores.

But innovation doesn’t have to stop there; there is so much existing technology and tech infrastructure out there already that retail can be capitalising on to make the in-store shopping experience as convenient and frictionless as possible.

QR codes are seeing a resurgence, for example, which goes to show that you don’t need the powerhouse of China’s technology innovation behind you to offer the best-in-class seamless experience for shoppers today.