Two pilot self-payment convenient stores that operated without a cashier for one day have completed the trial and passed the integrity test, which could help businesses reduce their operation costs in the future.
The test was conducted on two stores, one in Beijing and another in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and the results showed that 82 percent of the transaction were honestly and faithfully paid by clients who bought at the store.
According to a press statement released to the Global Times by a user-databased credit scoring system that supported the two stores, they hope to promote a social credit system through the test and the self-service stores may be operated in the future to encourage customers to pay in good faith.
The report said that the two stores have no cashiers and the customers either paid for their purchases using cash or e-wallet. There was also no supervisor to look after the store.
In the store in Hangzhou, a QR code and guidance were placed in the outlet with no cashier where customers scanned the bar codes themselves and pay via mobile phone or put the cash in an honesty box, the Gobal Times reported.
The report added that the system used in the store is affiliated to an Internet financial service provider in the country.
According to the cnr.cn, a news website, a customer came several times to the store in Beijing to buy cigarettes and bottles of wine but paid only 10 yuan. Three other customers also took some expensive items and left without paying.
"The result of this activity is quite good and only a small minority of customers pay less or nothing," the Global Times quoted Zhang Daosheng, an employee of the company.
The statement said that the system could help supermarkets and stores offering the self-payment service to reduce their operating costs. It added that a mature social credit system could also help customers enjoy the convenience of buying in a self-payment store.