Chinese consumers have embraced facial identification and mobile payments to buy everything from fast food to sex toys, drawn towards the efficiency and the novelty of semi-automated stores.
“Sometimes when you are in a bad mood, you just want to be able to get in and out without any hassle,” said Joyce Zhang, a teacher at a Beijing elementary school.
Ms Zhang frequents one of 12 cashier-less locations opened by start-up Xiaomai. Customers scan bar codes on items using Tencent’s Chinese messaging app WeChat before paying with WeChat Wallet.
