South Korea’s convenience store chains are testing a variety of technologies, running some fully unmanned stores and hybrid (unmanned night operations) stores in a smart store format.

A good example of this is CU’s artificial intelligence (AI) face recognition kiosk. Once users register their face and customer information at a kiosk installed at the entrance of a store, they can enter, leave and make payments automatically with a face scan when they visit again.

Inside the store, about 30 AI cameras track product movements and detect strange behaviours.

For E-Mart 24’s smart convenience stores, customers can enter by verifying their credit card, with payment completed automatically after they leave with the products of their choice.

The number of hybrid stores run by the four major convenience store chains in South Korea stood at 2,961 this year, up 45 per cent from a year ago.

7-Eleven currently provides a drone delivery service at Gapyeong in Gyeonggi Province, and launched a robot delivery service in Seocho district, Seoul in September.

CU is also set to launch a robot delivery service next year in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Co.’s in-house startup MOBINN and payment service provider Nice Information & Telecommunication.

The story was originally published on The Korea Bizwire