<Anchor> This is a
friendly economic time. Today (31st) I will be with reporter Han Ji-yeon. A reporter, how are you? Today is the last day, this year. But next year's New Year's Eve events are all canceled and it's like this, because of Corona. It seems that things that people meet like this have become a bit inconvenient now due to the corona virus and it has become a daily routine.
<Reporter>
It is increasing not only in cafes and convenience stores, but also in various fields.
Recently, I noticed that there are places where even an optician is operated unmanned.
Actually, I want to try on glasses or something, but the staff seem to notice.
It's nice to have an unmanned store like this, but when I asked if I could get the right lenses for my eyesight, there are times when there are opticians.
Anyway, many of these unmanned stores are convenience stores.
Although there are differences by company, the number has increased more than 8 times in one year at most, and the number of four major convenience store companies combined is close to 2,000.
When I looked at why the number of unmanned stores increased, the biggest reason was the high labor cost. The minimum wage continues to rise, reaching 9,160 won next year.
In the convenience store industry, there are many hybrid stores that operate unmanned only at night in an attempt to reduce this labor cost.
If you are uninhabited, you might be thinking, “How do I do a passport check when buying alcohol?”
The restrictions were lifted this year. It is now possible to sell alcoholic beverages unattended.
You can be authenticated as an adult with a mobile driver's license.
A fast food restaurant also introduced an unmanned pickup system for the first time this month.
In the meantime, there were a lot of orders from the kiosk.
However, it was the first time that receiving food was done without an employee at the pickup box like that.
<Anchor>
You explained that people are getting used to the non-face-to-face culture and, as you just said, the number of unmanned stores has increased a lot as wages have risen. A large appliance store? It is said that even home appliance stores run by large corporations have unmanned stores.
<Reporter>
That's right. From the consumer's point of view, the good thing about non-face-to-face is that you don't have to pay attention while looking at the product.
In particular, unmanned stores are popular among the MZ generation, who are shy about talking.
Also, because of the corona virus, home appliances are also shopping online a lot. This is what the big companies caught on to.
So, in unmanned stores, you can experience the product and purchase it online.
A large conglomerate opened this unmanned store for the first time as a home appliance store in May, and it is said that 70% of the accumulated customers are from the MZ generation.
It is said that the number of unmanned stores will increase to 30 by the first half of next year as the popularity grows.
<Anchor>
There will be more and more unmanned stores, in a situation like this. However, one thing I am curious about is that unmanned stores have some weak security issues. Really?
<Reporter>
Yes, it is. Unmanned store thefts are happening all the time.
No CCTV? It's okay if you don't, but there have been many crimes like robbing it first.
If you look at the video, it is a theft incident at an unmanned store this month. It was caught on CCTV like that.
But when you see it, they just turn the CCTV like that and steal it.
They say it took less than a minute to unpack the ATM.
And it's not just theft.
I drink and smoke like that, I even drive a bicycle, and then I fall asleep.
It's an unmanned store in the name of managing this, but you can't have people there. So, large companies use an app, credit card, or QR code to authenticate themselves when entering and exiting, but it will not be easy for small stores.
So, the Internet & Security Agency says it will make guidelines for unmanned stores related to this security from next year, so we will have to wait and see how it will change.
<Anchor>
But if the number of unmanned stores continues to increase like this, why is it difficult for the elderly who are not familiar with electronic devices?
<Reporter>
That's right. This is an area that needs to be improved a bit.
In fact, even young people are sometimes confused when using the kiosk for the first time, but how much more confused by the elderly.
I've been helping out in stores a few times now.
So, there are views like this, whether the unmanned system or the unmanned system is bringing about alienation of information.
However, as it is an inevitable trend in the era of the 4th industrial revolution, it is impossible to go against this, and it seems that such meticulous measures such as education for the elderly are necessary.
In fact, these unmanned stores started earlier in the United States and China in 2016, but they failed.
Because the Samsung Economic Research Institute analyzed it, it was a failure to focus on technologies such as anti-theft and payment methods rather than customer needs.
Even in the age of AI and robots, customer satisfaction and communication must come first.
<Anchor> If the number of
unmanned stores increases, the number of very short-term jobs will decrease.
After all, it seems that very short-term jobs are clearly connected with the lives of the socially disadvantaged.
I think the government should be a little more careful in this area.