BingoBox Brings Unmanned Stores to Hong Kong

Cashierless concept allows shoppers to pay for purchases via mobile wallets like Alipay or WeChat Pay.

December 01, 2017

HONG KONG – Retail News reports that China’s unmanned convenience-store brand BingoBox is planning to bring its cashierless concept to Hong Kong in 2018 to neighborhoods and suburbs that do not have convenience stores, such as parks, villages and public-housing estates.

“With unmanned stores, the labor cost is eliminated, making them far more cost-effective, even in expensive cities like Hong Kong,” BingoBox CEO Chen Zilin commented.

The news source writes that South Korea already has an unmanned 7-Eleven concept called Signature, and in Seoul, as part of its “new retail” concept, Alibaba operates an unmanned coffee shop that uses facial recognition for customer payments. Also in China, JD.com launched unmanned convenience stores that use technology to track products and customer movements.

To shop a BingoBox, users scan a QR code to enter a the store, then place their purchases on a checkout counter that automatically scans and tallies up the total. Retail News says that payments are made via mobile wallets such as Alipay or WeChat Pay.

“As BingoBox is an unmanned store that entails almost no labor cost, we can open in areas with lower foot traffic, whereas traditional convenience stores pay high rents for prime locations,” Chen says.

The company is also looking to expand into South Korea and Malaysia within the next six months.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement