One of the most innovative countries in the world recently unveiled a convenience store with zero employees.
Opened in late January in the Swedish town of Viken (population: 4,227), customers can buy milk, bread, and other small essentials just by using their smartphones.
According to store owner Robert Ilijason, the 24-hour shop caters to people who need these small items when most supermarkets are normally closed, without the need for bleary-eyed staff to work the graveyard shift.
"My ambition is to spread this idea to other villages and small towns," Ilijason told NDTV. "It is incredible that no one has thought of his before."
In fact, people have thought of it before.
In 2014, a company called ShelfX unveiled a payment system allowing shoppers who enter a ShelfX-equipped store to swipe either their credit card or pre-paid Xcard to make purchases, without any staff in sight. That same year, a North Dakota coffee shop introduced an honor system model to great success. After customers prepare their own coffee or tea, they simply leave the necessary amount of money on the counter or pay by credit card, again no humans required.
Ilijason's store essentially combines those two systems. To get in, shoppers wave a smartphone running the Swedish banking app BankID. Then they use the phone to scan individual items.
"I know who you are and will only allow you in if you have no history of credit issues," he told The Daily Mail.
At the end of each month, customers receive a bill. The only involvement Ilijason has is unloading deliveries onto the shelves.
To deter shoplifting, Ilijason has set up six security cameras around the 480-square-foot store, NDTV reports. He also receives a text message if the front door stays open for more than eight seconds or if it's forced open. In the store's two months of operation, he says he hasn't had any problems yet.
The larger obstacle, Ilijason says, is getting older clientele to grasp the technology. He wants to make the experience more user-friendly, so people less well-versed in technology don't have to fumble with a smartphone. They'll eventually be able to use their credit card, similar to ShelfX's system.
If he wants to get even more adventurous, Ilijason could take a page from Japan's Weird Hotel, where talking robots have replaced all the human workers.
