The Future Study of Unmanned Convenience Store in Malaysia

Abstract

Most conventional convenience stores in Malaysia face operation time and manpower problems, indicating the need for solutions such as unmanned convenience store. The unmanned convenience store is a retail outlet without service personnel or cashier. The technology of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are typically used to facilitate transactions in unmanned stores. However, whether unmanned convenience stores might replace conventional stores in the future has not been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the key drivers of the unmanned convenience store from merged issues, trends, and challenges and its future scenarios of the unmanned convenience store in Malaysia. This study used exploratory research design by using descriptive survey developed from the STEEPV analysis. Eight merged key drivers had been identified after the merging of all the drivers from STEEPV analysis. Descriptive questionnaires were distributed to the consumers who went to unmanned convenience stores. The technology readiness of unmanned convenience stores was also evaluated using Technology Readiness Index (TRI). The top two drivers that were identified which are “innovation of technology adoption” and “consumer preference” in impact-uncertainty analysis and were used for developing future scenarios of unmanned convenience store in the next 5 to 10 years. Four future scenarios discussed were “technology is at par with customer demand”, “improvement is observed”, “uses of technology are not welcome by customers”, and “not fulfilling customer’s demand”. Consequently, this study may assist future researcher and developers to enhance their understanding of the unmanned convenience store in Malaysia.