Beijing subway convenience stores are moving forward at a fast pace. On September 29, the Beijing Business Daily reporter learned that the first intelligent unmanned convenience store in Beijing Metro was piloted and operated at the Happy Valley Scenic Station of Metro Line 7, which was opened for the cooperation between Beijing Metro and Yiqing Holdings. The investment and popularization of unmanned convenience stores have been criticized, and whether they can adapt to the needs of subway business needs to be further considered. The analysis believes that no one should be a gimmick, and it is the most critical to be able to solve the demands of commuters.
10 square meters of 500 kinds of products
There is an unmanned convenience store at the Happy Valley Scenic Station of Metro Line 7. It is understood that the store is jointly opened by two municipal state-owned enterprises of Beijing Metro and Yiqing Holdings.
Beijing Business Daily reporter saw at the scene that the smart convenience store is named "Jingqing Intelligent Convenience Store", the store area is about 10 square meters, providing fresh food, dairy, water drinks, paper products, beauty, bread and pastries, leisure snacks and other seven categories of more than 500 kinds of products. In addition, there are some cultural and creative products with Beijing characteristics and Beijing subway special goods.
It is worth noting that the Jing light smart convenience store adopts a senseless payment method. Consumers can enter the store by scanning the WeChat Mini Program or Alipay to scan the face, and can directly leave the store after purchasing the goods, and the system can directly identify the amount of the purchased goods, without the need for the product scanning code link, WeChat and Alipay will automatically deduct the fee.
"The store system can enable consumers to achieve sensorless payment through the combination of computer vision and intelligent shelves, and the probability of error is very small." Only a small number of staff are required to carry out regular replenishment on a daily basis. The on-site staff said.
According to the passenger demand survey report of the subway company, more than 70% of the passengers have a demand for improving the quality of subway services and travel experience, and the demand for increasing convenient service facilities and improving convenient services is higher, especially for various hot and cold drinks, ready-to-eat foods and bento meals. At the end of July this year, three pilot convenience stores on Line 5 of the Beijing Subway, Name 5 Hepingli North Street Station, Line 6 Qingnian Road Station and Line 7 Caishikou Station, were opened for pilot operation, and the three convenience stores can provide passengers with meals, convenient foods and drinks.
Can you break the "cost cycle"
Unmanned convenience stores have entered people's vision as early as 2016, and their novelty and intelligence have brought consumers a better experience. However, with the passage of time, the limitations of unmanned convenience stores have also emerged. The high cost of opening a store also makes unmanned convenience stores in an embarrassing situation of "applauding but not calling".
Unmanned convenience stores save some labor costs through technology and equipment, but hidden costs cannot be ignored, including software and hardware investment, rent, labor, water and electricity, etc. Opening an ordinary smart convenience store is about 400,000-500,000 yuan, of which software, systems and smart devices such as access control and induction are the majority of the cost expenditure.
However, some insiders believe that stores in other scenarios have a high dependence on store managers. In contrast, subway convenience stores do not have some freshly made cooked food and fresh food, the category of store goods is relatively fixed, and the passenger flow in the subway station is relatively stable. Therefore, unmanned convenience stores will be more suitable for the subway scene.
"Beijing Metro has the resources of many stores, while Yiqing Holdings has unmanned retail technology and commodity supply, and the cooperation between the two sides can better control and reduce operating costs through complementary resource advantages." The industry analyst said that however, the two sides are still in their infancy, and whether this model can be successful and large-scale promotion needs to continue to be observed.
Convenience is at the heart of it
In 2018, Beijing issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Integration Planning and Construction of Rail Transit Stations and Surrounding Land", proposing to build micro-centers around rail transit stations. The rail micro-center is an urban regional space with full integration and interaction with rail transit stations, high accessibility, high degree of intensive land utilization, diversified urban functions, and a sense of place and recognition. To enable citizens to meet the diverse needs of life nearby while traveling through transportation. Among them, it is proposed that the area of public functional land such as commercial, commercial, public services, culture and entertainment within the scope of the rail micro-center should account for more than 30%.
Chen Liping, a professor at the Capital University of Economics and Business, believes that in the context of Beijing's proposed rail micro-center, the opening of convenience stores in the Beijing subway is the future trend. It is mainly around the commuting population, providing them with more convenient goods and services. "There are a lot of stations in Beijing, especially some of the transfer stations where there are a lot of commuters. Due to the long commute time, there will naturally be consumer demand. ”
Chen Liping also pointed out that the use of smart convenience stores for middle-aged and elderly people and even some students may have certain difficulties. The key to convenience stores in the subway is to provide convenience. Whether there are people or no one, the root of convenience stores lies in convenience, "there is no need to pursue gimmicks, solving the needs of commuters is the most important."
Beijing Business Daily reporter Zhao Shu commented on Zhao Chi