The robots, developed by Tokyo startup Telexistence, will be added to 300 FamilyMart outlets by the end of March 2025 and stationed behind refrigerated cases to replenish drinks.
The machines will use image recognition technology to automatically restock product when needed. By essentially eliminating the role of staff from the process, the system is expected to save a store 10 hours’ worth of labour costs per day.
The move comes amid expectations of an intensifying labour shortage as the economy normalises from the pandemic. With the retail sector’s low labour productivity, boosting efficiency by adopting robots and other measures is seen as crucial in giving companies a competitive edge.
FamilyMart will first roll out the robots in about 30 directly managed locations in the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo, with franchises to be phased in as well. The robots will be installed primarily in stores that pull in ¥500,000 (US$3,700) or more in daily revenue.
The 300 stores using the robots amount to only about 2% of the roughly 16,000 FamilyMarts across Japan. The company will consider expanding the number of participating stores once it verifies the effectiveness of the system.
Franchises taking part in the automation effort will lease the robots at a cost that has yet to be disclosed.
Stores that adopt the robots can expect higher revenue. Clerks who normally restock drinks will have more time to provide customer service or to prepare fried foods, which carry high margins.
FamilyMart will be the first major Japanese convenience store chain to utilise robots on a non-experimental basis. Previously, minimarts have focused labour-saving technology on the customer-service front, such as with self-checkout registers.
FamilyMart has stepped up the automation of most tasks as it looks to create a less labour-intensive work environment, with an eye toward broadening its hiring pool and retaining employees.
The retail sector, known for its labour-intensive work, lags behind other industries when it comes to efficiency. A single retail worker generates ¥4.94 million in labour productivity in terms of added value, according to a government survey from last year. That is less than half of the ¥10.73 million produced by a typical manufacturing worker.