Recently, Lenovo made headlines after it joined the list of companies with cashier-less stores such as Amazon, JD, Alibaba, and Walmart-owned Sam’s club.
The globally renowned hardware developer opened a cashier-less convenience store last week in Beijing, which sells several products such as juice boxes, cup noodles and other small snacks.
Clients wave to a tablet fitted with a camera in a bid to enter the “Lenovo Lecoo Unmanned Store.” The tablet utilizes facial recognition in identifying their account profile. Then, just like Amazon Go’s system, clients can browse, collect the items, exit freely and the charges are then automatically deducted directly from their mobile payments account.
Even though Lenovo is mostly known for making smart home devices, phones, and computers, its “Lecoo Unmanned Store” mainly sells food.
Most Chinese technology firms that are involved in making hardware opt to open cashier-less convenience stores that sell small snacks.
For instance, Alibaba’s most automated Hema grocery store offers an array of fresh seafood and drinks, while JD stocks up on bags of jerky and chips.
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China is known for relying on mobile applications such as Alipay and WeChat. As such, it is easy to get the general population to try out cashier-less checkout by relying on mobile payments.
Lenovo said that it is currently utilizing the store as a “pilot program” in a bid to test new technology, including enhancing facial recognition on its smartphones and tablets.
What’s more, Lenovo intends to include features such as ordering at the convenience store in an attempt to ship products directly to your house.
It is also expected to add a smart coffee machine designed for learning customer preferences.
Lenovo is a well-known Chinese multinational tech company with its headquarters in North Carolina, U.S and Beijing, China.
The company designs, manufactures and sells smart televisions, IT management software, electronic storage devices, workstations, tablet computers and personal computers.
