Convenience store operator Lawson and electronics maker Panasonic have developed an automatic cash register system that can actually bag items for customers. The aim is to address the problem of staff shortages at stores.
The two companies began a test of the system at a shop in Osaka on Monday. Customers scan the items they want to buy, using bar-code readers on their shopping baskets. At the register, the total charge is displayed on a panel. After payment, the items are automatically placed in bags below the counter.
Starting in February, the companies plan to introduce a system in which electronic tags attached to the items eliminate the need for scanning.
Lawson says the system will allow it to cut store staff by about 10 percent. It hopes to introduce the system at several dozen stores after September next year.
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