Unmanned stores are spreading in Korea's retail industry. By contrast, in major overseas markets such as the United States and Japan, there is a trend of scaling back or withdrawing unmanned stores, showing a contrasting trajectory.
◇ Growing number of unmanned stores in Korea
According to industry sources on the 3rd, Paris Baguette, operated by SPC, is running 17 hybrid stores that are staffed during the day and unmanned at night. After starting a pilot at two locations—Cafe Seocho Station and Yeonsinnae in Seoul—in Oct. last year, it shifted to full operations at the end of last year. Paris Baguette said the introduction of hybrid stores, which operate unmanned during hours when the store would otherwise be closed, has generated more than 100,000 won in additional daily revenue on average, improving franchisees' revenue structure. A Paris Baguette official said, "From the owner's perspective, there are initial investment costs such as kiosk installation and security company fees, but without additional labor costs, the extra nighttime income improves profitability."
Convenience store chains are also increasing hybrid stores that run unmanned at night due to labor cost burdens. E-MART24 has the most unmanned stores, with 1,756 as of last year. GS25, run by GS Retail, had only 19 unmanned stores in 2019, but the number rose to 824 last year, combining 755 hybrid stores and 69 fully unmanned stores. CU, run by BGF Retail, increased its number of hybrid stores from about 300 in 2021 to around 400 last year.
A convenience store industry official said, "Stores in outlying areas and provincial regions with weak nighttime sales are adopting hybrid operations to reduce labor costs," adding, "However, products with strong nighttime demand, such as alcohol and tobacco, cannot be sold in unmanned stores, and staffed stores still have more revenue competitiveness, so recently the growth of unmanned and hybrid stores has slowed."
In Korea, amid rising labor costs, hiring difficulties, and higher minimum wages, unmanned stores are cited as an alternative to improve operational efficiency. Beyond simply shrinking cashier counters, the model is evolving into redesigning store layouts themselves, with traffic flows that link entry authentication, product selection, automatic payment, and contactless pickup. Observers say using artificial intelligence (AI) payment and vision recognition technology is expected to shorten dwell time and improve turnover.
In addition, in Korea, unmanned operations are becoming a tool to change operating structures rather than an experiment to eliminate people. In reality, monitoring staff and others are still needed, so more cases are being introduced for operational streamlining than for cutting labor costs. A convenience store industry official said, "Even stores that operate unmanned need staff to manage them, so staffing does not drop drastically. But since personnel for checkout are not needed, staffing for tasks like stocking products or cleaning the store is sufficient, allowing flexible operations," adding, "It's not about removing people entirely for fully unmanned operations; it's about staffed operations that enable maximum efficiency."
◇ United States and Japan are scaling back or closing
In the United States, Amazon is closing its unmanned "Amazon Go" and "Amazon Fresh" stores. The reason is the failure to create a differentiated customer experience and a scalable revenue model. Some closed Amazon-branded offline stores are being converted to Whole Foods locations, and the company is shifting to licensing its unmanned technology to external retailers.
Japan has also entered a slowdown phase in experiments with unmanned stores. Daiei of the Aeon group is withdrawing from its unmanned "Catch and Go" business, and the view is spreading in the industry that profitability does not match initial investment costs. In the convenience store sector, Lawson started operating a checkout-free store in 2024 where product payments are automatically completed online, but there is only one store so far. According to the Nikkei, a Lawson official said, "We prioritize face-to-face service, and investments in cameras and sensors for store management are a burden."
Overseas, unmanned stores face burdens such as high equipment investment outlays, maintenance and repair expense pressures, and a high share of cash usage, which act as headwinds to expansion. The high ratio of face-to-face service in Japan's convenience store model is also an obstacle to full automation.
◇ Differences in cash use and nighttime foot traffic
By contrast, Korea has a high share of card and mobile payments, and as small-scale startup models such as ice cream shops, unmanned cafes, and self-serve convenience stores have rapidly increased, simple unmanned systems centered on small stores have spread, lowering entry barriers relative to overseas. The fact that nighttime offline demand is higher than in overseas markets has also played a role.
Lee Jong-woo, a professor in the Department of Distribution and Marketing at Namseoul University, said, "The decisive difference is that Korea's nighttime foot traffic is so much higher compared with overseas. In the United States and Japan, except for entertainment districts, there is no nighttime demand for offline stores, but Korea is different." He added, "As small unmanned stores like ice cream shops have spread quickly, there is little resistance to kiosks and unmanned stores," and "with overall consumption recently in a slump, small stores whose sales have been hit to the point that they cannot bear labor costs have inevitably adopted unmanned systems."