World News
PHILIPPINE RETAILING
Starbucks Coffee Korea boosts
cashless store ranks
Starbucks Coffee Korea is adding 300 more ‘cashless shops’ in
addition to the 103 stores currently in operation.
Cashless stores require customers use a means of payment other than cash. The
company noted that adding 300 more cashless stores would amount to one-
third of the 1,200 Starbucks shops in South Korea.
“Instead of cash, customers will be asked to use credit cards, Starbucks cards,
mobile transactions and other means of payment,” a company representative
added.
Over the past three months, Starbucks reduced the ratio of cash transactions at
its stores from 3.4 per cent to 0.2 per cent on average. The average number of
cash transactions per store dropped from 19 to 1.1 per day.
honestbee unveils high-tech
grocery and dining space
Online grocery and delivery service honestbee unveiled
‘habitat by honestbee’, a supermarket, restaurant and retail
technology innovation lab all rolled into one 60,000 sq ft
space.
habitat houses a full supermarket, specialty fresh grocer, fulfillment center,
dining area with 15 food concepts and retail technology innovation lab. habitat
also offers event space for corporate and private functions.
Dubbed as ‘NewGen Retail’ by honestbee’s CEO and founder Joel Sng, habitat
also features two “world firsts”: a cashless checkout experience called
AutoCheckout and a robotic collection point called RoboCollect.
With AutoCheckout, customers with more than 10 items are able to pay for
their goods via the honestbee app after depositing them at stations where they
DECEMBER 12, 2018
8
4TH QUARTER 2018
“Cashless
stores can
better focus
on customer
satisfaction
since
employees
don’t have
to spend
time going to
the bank to
balance cash,”
Starbucks
Coffee Korea
said.
“Less work also means more satisfaction for our employees,” the company
added.
Inside Retail Asia, 10/25/2018
are automatically
scanned, checked
out, and packed
into bags. Orders
can be processed
end-to-end
in
under five minutes.
To enter habitat
and
experience
these
services,
customers
have
to download the
honestbee
app,
which features the
Bee Pass and is
linked to their credit cards or beePay, honestbee’s e-wallet.
habitat marks honestbee’s first foray into brick and mortar retailing.
Singapore Business Review, 10/16/2018