Aeon China is set to launch a self-service store network equipped with technology to anticipate what a customer will buy upon entry.

The facial-recognition technology will activate recommendations and coupons displayed on the customer’s phone, based on individual purchase habits and digital payment history. It will be installed in 80 of the group’s roughly 480 locations in the territory.

The Japanese-headquartered retailer’s strategy is intended to reduce staffing costs, allow automatic product ordering and draw in customers. Management needs for the new stores will be addressed by a new centre to be established in Chinese Hangzhou.

Aeon China also plans to launch an online supermarket and a cross-border e-commerce platform in China this year, in part to accumulate data to support the self-service store network. The firm expects that its development in China will prime the technology for rollout in Japan and Southeast Asia.