India to have first cashier-free store

The first automated, cashier-free store in India has opened its doors.

Watasale, which has opened in Kerala, has no staff on sales or cashier duty and customers are not expected to scan products or wait in line. Shoppers carrying their smartphones can walk in and out of the store without needing to check out any items for sale. The store’s AI allows customers to purchase from the store by scanning a QR code.

“Back in 2015, it was a time when machine learning and artificial intelligence was really coming out,” explains the firm’s COO Richu Jose. “We knew any segments can be disrupted using this technology. If you look at the market structure, the retail segment was still following the age-old technologies. We found it as a ripe ground for innovation and disruptive technologies.”

Chief marketing officer Rajesh Malamal said that the firm believes “our systems are more economical and scalable in comparison to Amazon’s solution”.