All About Japan

Lawson’s First Register-Free Store

Technology Convenience Stores Deeper Japan Kanagawa Kanto
Lawson’s First Register-Free Store

Convenience store giant Lawson will open an experimental register-less store on February 26th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkXNoFpXTUQ&feature=youtu.be

Customers install an app and a scan a QR code to enter the store. 28 cameras will track shoppers’ movements while sensors on the shelves determine which products have been taken. Payments are done through pre-registered credit cards. Human workers will still be necessary to stock shelves. Lawson hopes to open more of the register-less stores in the Tokyo area this summer. The move comes as retailers in Japan grapple with a serious labor shortage.

What do you think? Is this the wave of the future for Japanese convenience stores?