YUDIAN, the first unmanned, 24-hour, self-service convenience store in Shenzhen, was opened in March and grossed a monthly 30,000 yuan (US$4,459) without any cases of theft, sznews.com reported Sunday.

Located in the Quanchuang 101 community in Nanshan District, the store features a freezer, a refrigerator and some racks selling a variety of goods such as beverages, ice cream, cigarettes, lighters and tissues. Although it appears ordinary from the outside, the store has no cashiers, cameras or anti-theft devices.

The convenience store is the concept of three post-1990 entrepreneurs. It is similar to Jack Ma’s unmanned supermarket, but the business operation pattern is different. The latter employs high technology for monitoring the store and completing transactions, while Yudian relies on trust. After four months, the store has an average revenue of 30,000 yuan a month, with losses totaling less than 1 percent, which is 300 yuan. “The losses were due to bill settlements, not theft. And I have confidence in the integrity of Shenzheners,” one of the shop owners surnamed Zhou said.

Customers are mostly citizens who live in the community and office workers. They pay for goods by scanning the QR codes or use cash. “It is very convenient, even without staff. And I assure you that we wouldn’t shoplift,” a citizen surnamed Huang told a reporter. He added that the shop owners are very considerate as they provide USB cables for charging phones and computers and even some cash to make change.

The convenience store has gained support from its customers. They give feedback on how the shop can improve by leaving notes. “We cherish the trust between our customers and us, and we want to pass on the concept of integrity,” Zhou said.

After being in operation for less than half a year, the convenience store has made a profit and attracted the attention of some investors. A second Yudian will be opened Sept. 1 in Jiji community in Nanshan, with another two stores planned for the end of the year. (Zhang Yu)