10 square meters unmanned coffee shop opens in Beijing for enjoyment and convenience to survive.

▲ Beijing unmanned coffee shop "friendly drink bar". (photo / photo taken from Beijing Business Daily)

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An unmanned coffee shop called "Friendship drink Bar" recently opened at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. the unmanned coffee shop is located downstairs in Hongyuan, not far from the playground, with an area of about 10 square meters. the coffee shop is equipped with two self-service coffee machines and a snack vending machine, as well as some tables and chairs, green plants, books and so on. Unmanned convenience store has not been copied on a large scale because of its unstable technology and high input cost.

The operator behind the unmanned coffee shop is Beijing Yibuer Technology Co., Ltd., which mainly develops self-service coffee machine equipment. This time, the unmanned retail outlet is used to try to operate the unmanned coffee shop for the first time, but the company's new retail plan is not clear. At present, it is still faced with operational problems such as unstable equipment and lack of store management standards.

The unmanned coffee shop covers an area of about 10 square meters. There are two self-service coffee machines in the shop. Customers can choose more than 20 kinds of drinks, such as latte, American coffee, milk tea, etc., on the coffee machine panel according to their own preferences. According to their own needs, they can set the proportion of milk sugar, hot and cold temperature, etc., and enter the payment link after setting. The price of the drink is between 9.9 and 15.9 yuan (about NT $45-73). There are two forms of payment: Wechat or Alipay. after the payment is completed, you can see the robotic arm in the machine to start making drinks.

In addition to two coffee machines, there is also a vending machine in the unmanned coffee shop, which contains some snacks and fruits such as apples and grapes. The price of apples is 8 yuan (about NT $37) for two and grapes for 15 yuan (about NT $69) a small box. In addition, the coffee shop is also equipped with tables and chairs, books, green plants, etc., for consumers to use and watch.

The head of the "friendly drink bar" market revealed that the cost of a coffee making machine is between 30, 000 and 90, 000 yuan (about NT $130000 to 410000 yuan), and it costs more than 10, 000 yuan (about NT $460000) to build such a coffee shop with more than 10 square meters. Under normal circumstances, the coffee machine needs about 3 days to replenish the material. He also mentioned that the unmanned coffee shop is a welcome event in coordination between the company and the University of International Business and Economics, which will be demolished in about a week, while the unmanned coffee shop at Fudan University is expected to open in September.

Niu Haipeng, an associate professor in the marketing department of Renmin University of China, points out that at present, consumers' demand for coffee is mainly divided into two categories: one is to pursue convenience, and the other is to choose to work, rest or socialize in a coffee shop to pursue environmental quality. The taste difference between the drinks made by the coffee machine and the manual work in the store is difficult to measure, but in terms of environmental comfort, if it is only a simple scene, it will not attract that part of the consumers who pursue quality. And for those customers who just buy and go, it doesn't make much sense to build equipment such as tables and chairs.

Lai Yang, secretary general of the Beijing Institute of Business Economics, believes that with the continuous reduction in the operating cost of automation technology, the popularization of automation equipment is a major trend. The unmanned coffee shop saves manpower and rental costs, and provides some space for consumers to come and order a cup of coffee, they can communicate freely and have a rest. As long as the price of the product is relatively reasonable, and there will be no equipment damage, sanitary mess and other problems brought by no one, there is still some room for survival.