The announcement of Amazon Go, the cashierless store concept, in late 2016, coincided with a flurry of Chinese tech companies creating their own versions of unmanned stores. For them, 2017 was a fruitful year for developing their solutions tailored to Chinese consumers, as well as in educating the market. What’s more important behind the quick […]
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Updated: Unmanned stores could see first big failure as Bianlifeng rumored to be pulling smart shelves from 38 Chinese cities
Bianlifeng (便利蜂), the operator of Chinese staff-less stores and smart vending machines, released a notice to its employees yesterday announcing that they will start pulling out vending machines from 38 cities in China an unnamed employee told Pingtu360. Except for the eight selected cities that they are currently testing the unmanned shelves in and the three […]
Suning’s big data-driven unmanned store opens in Shanghai
Chinese electronics retailer Suning opened its second unmanned store equipping full face recognition payment system in Shanghai on November 6th, Chinese media The Paper is reporting. Unmanned stores are spreading all over China, and Shanghai is becoming an important base to test the market with Shanghai’s affluent and trendy consumers. In Shanghai, unmanned convenience store BingoBox […]
14: Policies that most impacted Chinese internet and the rise of unmanned stores
This week we talk about most impactful internet policies of 2017 and the growing unmanned vertical Links Rita Liao: The 4 policies that most affected China’s internet in 2017 Emma Lee: Top 10 Chinese unmanned stores in 2017 Podcast information iTunes RSS feed Music: “Taking the Day Off” by Lee Rosevere, Hold Music Download this episode
China’s unmanned store BingoBox seeks legal identity to open stores
China’s retail industry has seen some innovation this year as BingoBox deploys its unmanned convenience stores in major cities in China. However, two of its stores which were opened in partnership with Auchan and RT-Mart in Shanghai were closed down last month as the cooperation deals ended, local media is reporting. National Business Daily revealed that one […]
Chengdu’s first unmanned supermarket closes down after 4 months
Chengdu’s first unmanned supermarket GOGO无人超市 has reportedly shut down after only four months according to local reports (in Chinese). The unmanned shelf project, GOGO小超, run by the same Chengdu-based startup, Xiao Mang Guo Technology Limited, closed down months ago. At least 30 employees have not been paid on time; one former employee told the Chengdu […]
BingoBox unveils new AI tech for its unmanned stores
BingoBox, China’s unmanned store startup, unveiled today its new AI solution called “Fan AI”, a smart goods shelving and new check-out payment method powered by image recognition, facial recognition, and machine learning. BingoBox is a 24-hour self-service convenience store. With a simple smartphone scan, customers are able to enter the store, pick the goods, and […]
JD renews offline effort with new unmanned convenience stores
Unmanned convenience store is one of the hottest buzzwords in China’s tech world since this summer. As a major force in China’s online retailing market, JD is sure not to be left out. Ahead of this year’s Single’s Day, the e-commerce giant has revealed that it is already testing two unmanned smart store models at its […]
Video: We tested one of China’s unmanned stores and this is what we found
BingoBox is becoming one of the more vivid examples of how fast innovation is moving in China’s retail industry along with Alibaba’s initiative in unmanned stores powered by their face recognition technology. However, the concept isn’t without its own teething problems. A BingoBox in Shanghai was closed for being too hot and when we tried one ourselves, we […]
China’s answer to Amazon Go aims to conquer the unmanned frontier with facial recognition
Long-waited Amazon Go opened its door to the public in Seattle last week and there has been overall positive feedback. However, unmanned stores are definitely not a new concept for China’s tech-savvy consumers. Since May 2017, when Alibaba launched its first unmanned store with the focus word “new retail”, a flurry of Chinese tech companies has […]