A convenience store giant has a solution that it hopes will solve a labor shortage — and simultaneously speed up checkout.
7-Eleven Japan is teaming up with four other major convenience store operators in the country to introduce radio frequency identification (RFID)-based point-of-sale solutions — a move that will automate the checkout experience and fight an employee shortage, according to
Bloomberg. RFID labels, which the chains already use as loss prevention devices, can be programmed to be “price tags.” Dedicated scanners will electronically read the prices of items of tagged merchandise sitting in a customer’s basket, rather than requiring an associate to individually scan each item's bar code. Sensors in store exit gates would also detect when mobile or card payments have been received, allowing shoppers to leave the store, the report said.
The project could launch as early as next year, and expand to all four chains’ convenience stores across Japan by 2025, according to
Bloomberg.
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