82 per cent clear integrity test at self-payment cashier-less China stores

BEIJING: Eighty two per cent customers passed an experimental integrity test conducted at two self-payment convenience stores in China with only a few people paying less or just walking away with expensive items.

The self-payment stores were opened in Beijing and Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on experimental basis on Saturday to conduct the test.

There were no cashiers at the two stores and customers can voluntarily pay for their purchases in cash or by E-wallet.

There were no employees either to supervise the stores. 82 per cent of the transactions were faithfully paid for.

"Most of the customers chose to pay in good faith... self-service stores might appear in the near future... we hope to promote a social credit system through the test," state-run Global Times quoted a press release by a user data-based credit scoring system which supported the two stores.

In Beijing, a customer came to the store several times to get cigarettes and bottles of wine but only paid 10 yuan (USD 1.6).

Another three customers allegedly took several expensive items without paying, according to news website cnr.cn.

"The result of this activity is quite good and only a small minority of customers pay less or nothing," Zhang Daosheng, an employee of the company said.

"Supermarkets and stores offering the self-payment service could help reduce operating costs," said the statement, specially in the back drop of an ageing population creating labour shortages in China.