A few days ago, a special unmanned store opened in Shanghai. Why is it so special, you ask? Because all payments in the store are made via face-scanning, so customers don’t need their wallets or cell phones to make a purchase.
The store is called Suning Biu and covers an area of over 100 square meters. Compared with its first store in Nanjing, this one is much bigger in size and has a wider range of products.
Almost 70% of the merchandise in the store is sports related, in addition to digital products and home appliances.
The biggest feature of the store is the new face-scanning payment system. Before entering the store, customers must download the APP called ‘FinanceSN’ and provide their facial scan and bank account details. Then, they are ready to go.
Customers enter the store by scanning their face through the camera above the door. Once the scanning is complete, the customer’s data will appear on the screen and the door will automatically open.
To make a purchase, customers must scan their face again for the system to identify the user and their goods. The shopping list and the price will appear on the screen and the system will automatically deduct the money from the customer’s bank account. The whole process is complete in seconds.
Since the shopping is completed through face-scanning, does it also apply to twins? “Of course,” says Zhang Li, Head of R &D Center of Suning. “The machine can recognize different customers from key areas of the face. Everyone has unique facial characteristics, including twins. This also means, it doesn’t matter whether you put on makeup or glasses.”
When asked about the prospect of the store, Fan Zhijun, General Manager of Suning, Shanghai stated, “The store is now doing well. We have amassed enormous experience in managing and retailing. We will open three more stores this week in Beijing, Xuzhou and Chongqing.”
“Our ultimate goal is not to lower direct labor costs,” claims Fan. “Instead, we hope our employees can be developed for other opportunities within our organization”
[Images via The Paper]
