Seven-Eleven Japan began a labor-saving test in September at its “Arakawa Nishiogu 7-chome Store” in Arakawa, Tokyo, utilizing robots and avatars. A restocking and cleaning robot, along with a customer service avatar, has been introduced at a single store to evaluate their effectiveness.
In addition to partially automating restocking tasks inside walk-in refrigerators, a cleaning robot helps reduce employees’ workload by handling high window glass and floor cleaning. The customer service avatar can operate up to three units simultaneously, enabling remote interaction with customers.
By reducing the amount of in-store work, the company aims to free up time for promoting new counter products such as “Seven Café Bakery” items and for improving sales area management, thereby increasing overall sales.
It also seeks to improve store operating expenses by reviewing task assignments. Going forward, the company is considering expanding implementation to general stores located in residential areas.
