Convenience Store of the Future Opens at Lotte World Tower

The vein-scanning self-checkout terminal studies the size, color, and shape of each shopper’s veins, which are then translated into numeric figures allowing shoppers to make payments without the hassle of using a cell phone, credit card or cash, after registering their Lotte Card user information. (Image: Seven Eleven)

SEOUL, May 16 (Korea Bizwire) – Seven Eleven Signature opened today at Lotte World Tower, the world’s very first unmanned convenience store where shoppers can pay with the swipe of their hand, thanks to a biometric verification system that scans palm vein patterns.

The vein-scanning self-checkout terminal studies the size, color, and shape of each shopper’s veins, which are then translated into numeric figures allowing shoppers to make payments without the hassle of using a cell phone, credit card or cash, after registering their Lotte Card user information.

Other striking features from the newly opened Seven Eleven store include an unmanned checkout system equipped with a 360-degree laser scanner that reads the barcode of every item within range and calculates the total cost, and automatic refrigerators with sensors that open their doors on their own when they recognize that customers are nearby.

The vein-scanning technology used in the checkout system was also adopted in the store’s smart tobacco vending machine, which is capable of identifying and prohibiting minors from buying cigarettes by reading customer palms.

Anyone entering the smart convenience store has to have their personal information registered in a database system, while smart CCTV systems guarantee extra security and prevent customers from entering outside of opening hours.

Seven Eleven Signature is scheduled to open to the public at the end of August after a trial run among 2,000 Lotte World Tower workers, with no plans for a second branch, an official at Korean Seven said.

The vein-scanning self-checkout terminal studies the size, color, and shape of each shopper’s veins, which are then translated into numeric figures allowing shoppers to make payments without the hassle of using a cell phone, credit card or cash, after registering their Lotte Card user information. (Image: Yonhap)

Jung Seung-in, the CEO of Korea Seven, the holding company behind Seven Eleven, said, “The ability to provide a variety of services and products, and a smart shopping environment in line with the latest consumer trends will be a major factor behind the success of convenience stores in the future. 

“Seven Eleven Signature comes as a premium smart convenience store packed with state-of-the-art information technology in light of the fourth industrial revolution, which will mark an iconic moment in the South Korean retail industry,” Jung added.

M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)