Japan continues to struggle with a labor shortage. With an aging population, there are simply not enough people to fill positions. Businesses have tackled this issue in a number of ways: encouraging mothers to get back into the workforce, raising the retirement age, and hiring more exchange students.
The latest attempt by employers struggling to fill shifts and trying to stay above water is an old solution for a modern problem: staffless shops.
The honor system
Staffless shops aren’t exactly a new idea. A form of them has existed in the Japanese countryside for ages.
The traditional mujinhanbai (็กไบบ่ฒฉๅฃฒ) or staffless stall is a small stand of fresh vegetables offered at ridiculously low prices. A less pretentious farm-to-table, if you will. Based on an honor system, the money is placed in a wooden box and you take the goods you’ve paid for.
This is a very local setup. The farmers offering it are part of the community. That’s the deterrent for being a shady character and walking off with an extra daikon or two.
Mujinhanbai are the latest evolution of this concept. For struggling business owners, they make sense. Without staff, overhead costs stay low. You can run them 24 hours a day, increasing potential customer visits. You can price competitively against convenience stores. Finally, you never have to worry about someone missing a shift.
Only a little creepy
My first encounter with one of these shops was during the tail-end of the global health crisis. Looking to kill time, I stumbled upon a staffless second-hand clothing shop.
The venue looked like it had previously been a garage. With its mannequins, isolated location, and out-of-place pop tunes, it was honestly a little unsettling. I did score a cool leather backpack for an absolute steal, though.
Since then, I’ve seen an absolute boom in staffless shops. Beginning with second-hand clothing shops but expanding into everything from Costco resale, cookies, dumplings, gyms, and even meat.
The shops are still based on an honor system. Most either have a universal pricing system or color tags indicating the price tier. Some still have the old-fashioned wooden box. However, the majority have a ticket machine not unlike those at a ramen shop. You buy a 500 yen ticket and walk away with a 500 yen product.
Many have improved their atmosphere, popping up in more high-traffic areas with a convenience store vibe. Some have even leaned into cute themes like Alice in Wonderland.
Newsworthy theft, despite security cameras
It’s an honor-based system, but security cameras support it. Like most of the rest of Japan, every shop has 24 hour surveillance.
In other words, no one being there to physically stop you from getting a five-finger discount doesn’t mean you’ve gotten away with it. Police recently arrested a woman in Nagoya for using pachinko coins instead of cash at a staffless sweets shop. Police used surveillance footage to identify her.
Pachinko coin fraud isn’t the only crime the shops need to worry about, either. Stores also have to contend with good old-fashioned shoplifting. Several shops have closed down because of those walking out without paying for goods. Without a person to stop them or guilt them into doing the right thing, the temptation has been too strong for some.
Beyond the smaller crime of sticky fingers walking out with the goods, there’s also been outright robbery. In Ogaki city in Gifu Prefecture, a criminal walked off with 50,000 yen (USD $345) and the entire coin change machine at a staffless sweets shop.
This bold smash-and-grab robbery took only 50 seconds and was caught on security footage. The suspect wore a ski mask and gloves. Their identity is still unknown.
With the added loss of the machine, the owner is now out of 150000 yen(1,036$). A customer who frequently shops with their kids there said, ” It’s scary. The shop is very convenient. I don’t want it to close because of this person”.
Big business buys in as staffing gets harder
Despite the potential for criminal misdeeds, big businesses are hopping aboard the staffless shop trend. A recent article in the PR Times discussed businesses looking into transitioning into a staffless model. Using apps that scan products along with cashless payments, customers can do everything on their smartphones. Seven Eleven is currently trial-running several such shops. Other convenience stores can’t be far behind.
Even stores that aren’t going fully staffless are using the technology of staffless stores to help out. For example, combini chains like Family Mart and Mini Stop and supermarket chains like Life and Maruetsu now offer self-checkout registers for those who want a little less human interaction in their lives.
Mister Donut, Japan’s largest donut chain, recently announced they will also be opening a staffless shop in the Shinanomachi neighborhood of Tokyo. Customers choose, box, and pay for their donuts through a cashless payment system.
If you overindulge in donuts there’s also Choco-zap – the staffless gyms run by RIZAP, a popular gym brand in Japan. These gyms are gaining popularity for offering lifestyle services not found at other facilities. They offer free drinks, nail art, karaoke, laundry, teeth whitening, and esthetic services.
Of course, you have to render all those services yourself. However, at 3,278 yen/month (USD $26), most customers aren’t complaining.
Useful for tourists?
With Japan hoping to increase inbound tourism to 60 million a year by 2030, businesses are increasingly looking for ways to bridge the language gap. Clerks who are multi-lingual are helpful. However, when even finding enough staff is hard, focusing on multilingual skills isn’t a top priority.
App-based stores and stores with multi-language kiosks allow customers to figure things out easily and avoid the awkwardness of miscommunication. Many chain restaurants are already leaning into this. You order through tablets provided at the table and pay via QR code at a kiosk. Staff still make the food and sometimes bring it out, though a robot cat is just as likely.
All in all, human interaction is becoming less common by the day. Japan’s customer service is world-renowned. But if these shops continue to expand, you may have to provide it yourself.
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ใในใฟใผใใผใใ 9ๆ26ๆฅ๏ผๆฐด๏ผ็กไบบๆฑบๆธใทในใใ ใๅฐๅ ฅใใใใคใฏใขใฆใๅฐ้ๅบใใขใใฌไฟกๆฟ็บใทใงใใใใชใผใใณ. PRTimes
