The death of the shop assistant?

August 2nd, 2010By Category: Culture

Japanese convenience store am/pm is getting around the problem of a decreasing work force in Japan by continuing to put entire shops inside vending machines. CScout reports that am/pm has 520 locations that feature many of the popular items in convenience stores, such as fresh lunch boxes stocked entirely in vending machines for self-service.

Steve Nagata / Flikr

Eliminating the need for any human interaction at all when shopping there, the outlets are made by vending machine maker Hachiyoh and can hold a total of 150 items which can be changed according to local tastes. As CScout reports, each one features a remote link to a head office location which checks stock levels and sell-by dates.

Right now you can find these ‘stores’ primarily at offices and factories. Other places, such as to education centers, public buildings, hospitals and mansions are set to follow however.

Automation in a number of sectors within japan’s service industry is taking place at an inreasing rate and has of course, long-existed in other areas such as sushi. As Japanese society becomes ever more robotic, will there need to be anybody working on the ground level in the future?

Author of this article

George Stobart

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  • Mono_locco says:

    This is normal in japan's non existant communication skills.
    Alot of the people here don't know how to interact with people anyways so this is a good move for them i guess.

  • Kylin88 says:

    Ye, I've seen this at Yodobashi camera, Akihabara.

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