Hisense to build unmanned Auchan grocery stores in China, operated by social networks

French retail giant Auchan said it will roll-out unmanned convenience stores across China this year, in partnership with state-owned home appliance company Hisense.

Europe’s eighth-largest retailer said it will open “several hundred” Auchan Minute stores and expects this number to rise quickly over the next few years.

“We are very ambitious,” said Ludovic Holinier, the executive chairman of Auchan Retail China. “With this world first, we are providing hyper-connected Chinese consumers with a solution that is in line with their buying patterns.”

The Auchan Minute unmanned convenience stores will measure around 18 square metres and carry about 500 products, including fresh products and non-food impulse goods (drinks, snacks and fruits). Hisense will be responsible for designing, developing and constructing these stores and will handle maintenance.

As with other unmanned stores, consumers will need to use the popular messaging app WeChat to enter a store by scanning a QR code at the entrance, which will be used to identify them. Once inside, all they have to do is to choose and scan the items they want, which will be automatically added to their virtual shopping basket. The payment will be made either through WeChat Pay or Alipay, two of the most popular payment methods in China, according to Auchan.

Analysts, meanwhile, were cautious in their assessment of this sector.

“It’s still difficult to say if consumers really like these stores,” said Luo Xianfei, a retail analyst with Northeast Securities.