One fancy shopping experience you'll ever imagine. -Edward Lin 2018/12/21
It'a hard to not notice the big movements convenience stores are making in Taiwan recently. Four leading company that forms the convenience store industry, 7-11, FamilyMart, Hi-life and OK, are all together working to explore a better future that a convenience store can have- Unmanned stores. 7-11 for instance, debut 2 concept "X-stores", one under their headquarter and one nearby. FamilyMart, on the other hand, focuses on the robot instore concept and is dedicated to make it work. Meanwhile OK, has launched dozens of new-teched vending machine all around Taiwan's government entities, trying a total different style of unmanned stores from the other two.But before we go on introducing the stores I mentioned above, why go unmanned? Is it necessary?Let's first start with the usual store we're familiar with. It's a super cold day and you're craving for something warm to drink. You thought of the one Boba shop right around the corner. The menu signage outside the store shows a lack choice of what you can have, and with little introduction of every beverage that you never had a sip before. You then ask the smiley face clerk for some advice. Then with smiley suggestions and 5 long minutes of persuasion, you decided to go with the hot, nice steaming cocoa with a little of coconut added (as described). However, it costs you 90 NTD and you have to wait for another 5 minutes for them to serve, as the milk needed to be steamed enough to stir the flavor of the cocoa. You spent a total 20 minutes outside cold waiting to be warmed. This other time when it's also cold and you want a warm beverage for your belly, you recall the time you're standing outside freezing. The drink was ok, but not ok for a 20 minute wait, so this time you decided to grab something maybe not as good, but definitely a quicker choice at the 7-11 around the other corner. You immediately see your all time favorite sitting in the pre-warming box preparing itself for you. You take the can of cocoa, walk to the counter and everything is done within seconds.
The stores we have now has the same old fashion problem: the dependency of manpower. Changing an in-store menus, advertisements outside the stores requires manpower. Making and warming your beverage takes time and effort, not to mention the no-stop paying progress going on all day. But what if, all these trivial bothering matter can be replaced? Digital signage in-stores to boost sales are already no big news. With a digital sign that help raises awareness in stores and a more hospitality feeling of surroundings, information can be given in a quicker and efficient way. Interactive screens can be installed for more customer engagement, displaying what shoppers have in mind and can always be altered. All benefits above, if combining it with the unmanned store I first mentioned, what would happen?
First, the annoying manual label changing can be replaced by E-ink screen that shows color exactly like paper. Clerks in store no longer have to replace the labels every season when prices change. A simple click from the headquarter is all it takes for either franchises or a small store, and all altering will be done perfectly. Digital signage can be put beside every different area of food or goods for advertisement and introduction, hence there will be no more need for clerks to rush over to every single customer in store to introduce. Coffee and drinks that used to be made by people can be replaced by automatic machines and digital signage that's telling the instructions of beverage making.
Paying can also turn into a self-help system that requires credit card, and the paying details can also be showed in a smaller monitor. Meanwhile, if anything goes wrong when paying, the system can always contact the store owner immediately, and the paying system will be lock down until everything's suited well. Also if we together combined the convenience store, unmanned store and the application of digital signage, I believe the shopping experience can be increased to another level.
Further more, by creating an environment of unmanned, self-help store, the concept of self-teaching shopping experience will one day be normal. The brand story can be noticed more than ever since people got to find their own needed product. Additionally, the concept of online stores can also be applied in your unmanned store. QR codes and product introduction can be embedded into the labels, giving shoppers the opportunity to shop in store but pay and receive products online.
Bringing digital signage in store may not be new, but bringing digital signage in unmanned store can be a special experience, opening up a whole new customer-sales relationship, generally increasing the possibilities for promoting products, serving customers. The concept is already not only an idea, but turning into a worldwide trend now.
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