Unmanned Late-Night 'Smart Super' Expands Nationwide... "4,000 Stores to be Developed in 5 Years"

Changwon-si, Andong-si, Siheung-si Introduce Smart Supermarkets... 5 Installed by December

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Smart supers, operated with staff during the day and unmanned at night, will be introduced in Changwon-si, Andong-si, and Siheung-si as well. These local governments plan to install five smart supers by December, providing up to 13 million KRW per store in support.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 26th that the pilot project for smart supers, promoted as a digital transformation model for small business owners responding to changes in the non-face-to-face distribution environment, is spreading nationwide as local governments adopt it using their own budgets.

In addition to the three aforementioned cities, many local governments such as Jeonju-si, Anyang-si, and Donghae-si have expressed their intention to participate in next year’s smart super development project, indicating a nationwide expansion trend.

Smart supers are hybrid unmanned stores operated with staff during the day and unmanned at night. They operate based on smart technologies and equipment such as unmanned entry devices, unmanned checkout counters, and security systems, along with digital management.

Neighborhood supers, numbering about 50,000 nationwide, are representative businesses in local commercial districts but face difficulties operating due to family labor requiring more than 16 hours a day and competition with convenience stores. The number of neighborhood super stores decreased by 34.4%, from 79,193 in 2010 to 51,943 in 2018.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups explained that smart supers enable additional sales through unmanned operation at night and contribute to improving the welfare of small business owners by reducing working hours.

The first smart super, ‘Hyeongje Super,’ which opened in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, last September, saw a 36% increase in average daily sales after conversion, with nighttime sales during unmanned hours rising by 72%. ‘Nadeulgage,’ a superstore inside the Yeouido Korea Federation of SMEs, was previously run by a single owner who ate cup noodles for lunch and rarely used the restroom, but these issues were resolved after converting to a smart super.

The Ministry plans to nurture 800 smart supers annually for five years starting next year, which is about 10% of the neighborhood supers. They also plan to increase collaboration with desired regions by identifying local government participation demand in the future.

Bae Seokhee, head of the Small Business Management Support Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “Neighborhood supers are representative businesses in local commercial districts and need to be developed according to regional characteristics, so we plan to actively expand smart supers through collaboration with local governments.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.