30% of FamilyMart Franchisees Face Staff Shortages
FamilyMart has unveiled a new hybrid checkout system that can operate as either a self-service or staffed register, aiming to reduce checkout-related work by about 20% as labor shortages affect roughly 30% of its franchise stores. (News On Japan)
FamilyMart, the Japanese convenience store chain, is grappling with staff shortages, affecting around 30% of its franchise stores. To address this issue, the company has unveiled a new hybrid checkout system that can function as either a self-service or staffed register. This innovative system aims to cut checkout-related work by approximately 20%, a significant reduction given the labor shortages being experienced by the franchisees.
The new checkout terminals are designed to seamlessly switch between self-checkout and employee-operated modes based on the time of day and the store's level of customer traffic. They also incorporate self-service registers capable of managing tasks previously requiring staff assistance, such as adding electronic money account funds and processing discounted items.
Moreover, the system is equipped with automatic alerts to summon an employee when a customer scans a product that necessitates staff intervention, like purchasing alcohol. This functionality allows customers to complete their alcohol purchases through a self-service register once the mandatory employee check has been completed. FamilyMart anticipates that the rollout of this new system across all its stores by the end of February 2027 will alleviate the operational burden caused by labor shortages.
Written by urgent.news from News On Japan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
