Cheers to ‘convenience stores of the future’

SINGAPORE — Heading to a convenience store? Don’t forget your mobile phone.

With NTUC FairPrice’s next-generation Cheers convenience stores, you’ll need to download a mobile app and register to generate a unique QR code before you enter the store. The QR code will also enable you to check out and pay for items on your own, without even reaching for your wallet.

Welcome to the “convenience store of the future”!

Local supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice launched its first unmanned and cashless Cheers convenience store on Friday (July 28) at Nanyang Polytechnic. The fully-automated concept store will also double up as a training centre for students of Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Business Management.

The store’s opening hours are Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 7.30pm.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) Mr S Iswaran said the new Cheers store marked a milestone in the transformation of the retail sector. Referring to it as the “Convenience Store of the Future”, Mr Iswaran said, “Cheers is raising the bar for what it means to be a convenience store of the future, positioned at the intersection of technology and brick-and-mortar businesses.”

The “Shop It Yourself” mobile app for Cheers patrons to gain access to the store will be available at the Apple and Android app stores by August 4, according to the company.

Fully equipped with vending machines that provide newspapers, magazines as well as an array of ready-to-eat meals ranging from pastries and pizza to local delights like fried rice and “hor fun”, the new-age convenience store works with smart technology.

Shoppers pick and bag their items, without the help of a shop assistant. At the check-out counter, the cashless payment modes include NETS, credit card, EZ-Link, mobile and contactless payment – all on a unified payment system, which does away with the baffling array of multiple payment terminals. Consumers will also be able to use NETS payment by QR code, a new form of payment that utilises DBS PayLah!, OCBC Pay Anyone and UOB Mighty.

At the back end, the store will use data and video analytics captured on CCTV systems to analyse purchasing behaviour within the store and customise the store’s inventory. An auto-ordering system will ensure that orders are placed for popular items before the shelves run out of stock.

Cheers plans to pilot another unmanned convenience store in Tampines by the end of next month and if the concept proves successful, more such stores will be rolled out in the next two years, the company said.

“To stay competitive and relevant, a key approach is to provide value-added services that cater to the needs and convenience of customers … It is a step towards offering a differential and innovative retail concept. Besides challenging industry norms, it also aims to cultivate a self-service culture,” said Mr Seah Kian Peng, chief executive, NTUC FairPrice.

As Singapore grapples with manpower constraints, especially in the services sector, the move towards a self-service culture is critical, Mr Seah added, highlighting that such a store saves up to 180 man hours per week.

This frees up staff from mundane and routine chores like bagging groceries, ringing up the cash till and tracking inventory, for example. According to the company, the savings in manpower will allow staff to be redeployed and up-skilled to focus on higher-value jobs such as supply chain management, customer relationship management, digital marketing and data analytics.

Ms Jeanne Liew, Principal and CEO, Nanyang Polytechnic, said: “We are moving our students up the value chain. They are gaining new skills and working with new technologies, such as data analytics and (the Internet of Things).”

The store is fully run by Nanyang Polytechnic students and over 50 are selected annually and deployed in batches throughout the year to operate the store.

Pointing to the entry of global retailer Amazon’s Prime Now service on Thursday that offers speedy deliveries based on new technologies and artificial intelligence, Mr Iswaran said the “Cheers event affirms that our local companies also recognise the need to integrate technology and automation into their systems and are more than equal to the task to remain relevant and competitive.”

Cheers is also revamping its stores at Esso service stations across the island to improve service standards and offer ready-to-eat meals packaged with new technology, said Mr Iswaran. All 62 stores are expected to be completely overhauled by the end of next year.