Panasonic Corp. is introducing convenience-store checkout machines that can scan and bag items on their own, joining Amazon.com Inc. in the push for more retail automation.
In the Panasonic system, demonstrated here Monday, a special shopping basket is designed to detect the merchandise in the basket and calculate the bill. After a customer places the basket in a slot, the bottom of the basket slides out and the merchandise drops into a plastic bag underneath, ready to be carried away. Customers can pay with cash or a card.
The system “could bring a revolution to the broader retailing industry,” said Sadanobu Takemasu, chief operating officer of convenience-store chain Lawson Inc., which joined Panasonic on the project. “We all face a scarcity of labor.”
Panasonic is trying out the system in a Lawson store adjacent to its Osaka headquarters. For now, customers need to manually scan each item before putting it in their basket, but Panasonic said the system would be fully operational in February once electronic tags have been attached to each piece of merchandise.
Amazon last week released a video featuring a different automation concept called Amazon Go. The 1,800-square-foot store being tested by Amazon employees eliminates checkouts and cash registers altogether, instead having customers scan their phone as they walk in. The store is designed to determine automatically what items customers take from the shelves and charge their account when they leave.
Executives at Panasonic and Lawson said they didn’t want to eliminate employees from stores entirely. “Our store is also a point of communication for neighbors, where customers can enjoy chatting with clerks,” said Lawson’s Mr. Takemasu.
In addition, they said the Amazon system might have limited appeal in a country such as Japan, where cash is still used widely. “We need a good solution also for customers who wouldn’t like a completely digitalized system,” said Yasuyuki Fukui, a Panasonic business-development executive.
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