BEIJING – There’s a new convenience store in the downtown area of Changsha, the capital of Hunan province in the People’s Republic of China. It’s an attractive shop with plenty of busy customers, many of whom select products but don’t pay for them with cash.

The new “smart store” contains China’s first Artificial Intelligence-based, self-service freezer offering Coca-Cola products. Shoppers scan a code to open the freezer door and then take the products they want. Payment is automatically transferred into the store’s account. The camera inside the freezer is able to recognize and identify a customer’s purchases with 99% accuracy, the company reports.

The Changsha store is owned by a woman and is part of Coca-Cola China’s “520 Program” designed to encourage female entrepreneurship. In cooperation with JD.com, a one-stop e-commerce platform, Coca-Cola China is striving to help women who own traditional grocery stores to adopt new technology and convert their establishments into “smart” convenience stores.

The hi-tech freezer was developed to attract trendy, young consumers, while making store management faster and more efficient for the owner. There are millions of traditional grocery stores in China, and it’s estimated that two-thirds of them are run by women or jointly managed by men and women.

If you want to see similar stores in action, NACS visits Shanghai, China, in March 2019 as part of our Convenience Summit Asia. Store tours are a popular component of the event. Mark your calendar and join us next year!