Nobody Retail? Behind The Closure Is Shuffle Or Die?

No one has been touted by the capital retail, and constantly came out of the news. Some traditional stores have begun to use technology to enhance their consumption experience. The trend of integration of new technology and retail is irreversible, but the transformation of retail digitalization should return to retail itself, and focus on convenience and quality products.

At 11:30 on December 27, 2019, a dairy tea shop on the first floor of Guanghua Dongli Zhonghai Plaza in Chaoyang District, Beijing, was lined up. At that time, it was a prime time for white-collar workers to eat and shop, and only 4 people entered the supermarket in 20 minutes.

Unattended, "code" on the go, big data predict consumption habits, smart anti-theft identification system...... Many new technology blittering retail outlets in 2017. Now, two years later, as the new favorite of the retail industry, the impression that no one retails to the outside world still stays at the technical level. In recent years, news of closure has also been heard.

What is the status quo of the once draught industry? Is it really unattended? Behind the closure is shuffle or die? Where will the future go? The workers' Daily reporter conducted an investigation.

Many of the first unmanned retail outlets are closed.

The unsold supermarket on the new East River Road in Ningbo, once the first unmanned supermarket in Beilun, was closed at the end of November last year after 7 months of operation. Not only that, the first unmanned retail outlets in Wuxi, Ji'nan and other places also announced the closure.

The closure of many first unmanned retail outlets made the 2017 no longer retail with capital and technology.

In 2017, the industry called it "the first year of retail sale without people". The unmanned shelves were placed on the streets of many cities overnight. However, the good times are not long. In 2017, in the first unmanned convenience store in Shanghai, the news came out of the box. In February 2018, Chengdu's unmanned shelving project GOGO Xiao Chao was exposed. In April last year, Guangzhou's New River pupu retail store suddenly closed. A large number of unmanned retail outlets collapsed.

According to the media survey, some unmanned supermarkets have been transformed into normal supermarkets directly. Among them, there are many unmanned supermarkets with well-known electronic business platforms.

No one is fresh, convenience is more important.

In the case of the shutdown of unmanned retail stores, insiders pointed out that for consumers, compared to the degree of automation of retail stores and the "technological sense" of shopping process, they are more concerned about the comprehensive consumption experience. Compared with ordinary convenience stores, the current unmanned retail stores only have fewer salesmen, and other aspects have not changed much. The core of unmanned retailing should not be nobody, but convenience and products.

On the evening of December 30, 2019, reporters at the unmanned shelves outside Chaoyang District District, Beijing, found that the yogurt sold on the shelf was more expensive than the convenience store nearby. "It's hard to generate people's desire to shop." A passing passerby said.

In addition, the technical problems of unmanned retail stores sometimes bring bad consumer experience to consumers. The owner of the Ningbo's first uninhabited retail store said there was a delay in the system. At 3 a.m., the machine didn't respond and trapped the consumer in the shop.

Liu Xia, an associate professor of marketing department of Shandong University of Finance and economics, said that there are many problems and disadvantages of unmanned retailing. Although the labor cost is reduced, it will inevitably bring about an increase in operating costs. Moreover, it has not been well solved in terms of missing items and technical aspects.

In some industry circles, unmanned retail seems to have some cost advantages in terms of rent and labor, but from the actual situation, the overall operating cost is very high. The automatic identification equipment of unmanned supermarkets and the operation system built by AI and big data will require high investment in the early stage, and the cost of maintenance at later stage is not small.

The ebb of capital is a fatal blow to unmanned retail sales. A venture capital investor said that investors gradually found that the blind expansion of the unmanned retail project could not achieve the balance of scene fit, replenishment cost, user fit and so on, and large-scale financing could not be sustained. Capital is gradually returning to reason and no longer foolish.

Many supermarkets and stores realize self checkout.

In the absence of the retail industry, some new retail outlets are opening. New stores are open in Hangzhou, Chuzhou and Lu'an.

In addition to totally unoccupied retail outlets, some traditional stores have begun to use technology to enhance their consumption experience. Reporters in Beijing Huarun Wanjia, Decathlon sports supermarket and other stores visited, found that self checkout gradually become the standard of these supermarkets. The cashiers in these supermarkets said they would be happy to help consumers understand and try to use self checkout.

"Self checkout is very convenient if we meet with the checkout team." A consumer at a Decathlon Sports Supermarket in Chaoyang District, Beijing said. Reporters saw that consumers put the goods into a shopping basket, the screen can automatically display the details and prices of goods, consumers scan code can be paid.

In this regard, there are comments that today, the trend of integration of new technology and retail is irreversible, and more and more technology sense of life is bound to accelerate the arrival of no supermarket, no shelf still has broad room for development.

According to the data of a consulting firm, the size of China's unmanned convenience store market reached 1 billion 100 million yuan in 2018, and it is expected to reach 3 billion 300 million yuan in 2020.

Tang Jun, director of the joint implementation of Shenzhen Internet of things Intelligent Technology Application Association, said the unmanned convenience store only sounded the clarion call for the transformation of traditional convenience stores. Only by returning retail to retail, returning to the essence of retailing, and providing earthshaking changes to the efficiency and efficiency of retailing, will it be possible to become a future retail champion.