Zippin tech powers Koyo Green Leaves Plus store in Japan

Frictionless shopping startup Zippin’s Japan partner, Fujitsu, has worked with Koyo Group to implement what is pitched as the world’s first checkout-free store within a hotel.

Situated in the Yokohama Techno Tower Hotel, it is also the first store in Japan open to the general public that uses biometric authentication technology to verify customers’ identities.

The grab and go Green Leaves Plus store, which sells pre-packaged food and beverages as well as fresh bento box meals, opened early this year as a pilot.

Customers enter via smartphone app. They must register their credit card information, and then proceed with a QR code.

They can also link their palm vein and facial recognition information with the application. Once done, a smartphone is no longer required for entry, just a swipe of the palm.

Koyo will start full scale operation at the store in April. Early research suggests it has relatively high traffic during the nine hours it’s open every day. Shoppers are spending an average of 113 seconds in-store.

“We believe that there is big growth potential for checkout-free retail in Japan,” says Zippin Co-Founder and CEO Krishna Motukuri.

“The Green Leaves Plus store is helping to lead the way to a better retail experience at hotels, hospitals, and other places where people need convenient access to food and drinks.”

Koyo also operates convenience stores and restaurants in more than 500 hospitals.

The aforementioned pilot will serve as a model for how checkout-free technology could work in a hospital setting, where people need 24 hour access to food and drink, without having to require a constant staffing presence.