- South Korea is witnessing a rapid growth of unmanned stores as business owners adopt robots and self-service to cope with labor shortages and rising wage costs.
- By the end of 2024, the country was estimated to have 9,000 such stores, while Samsung Card stated that the number in 2025 quadrupled compared to 2020.
- The 24-hour open model has appeared in coffee shops, ramen shops, flower shops, pet supply stores, and fashion boutiques.
- Lounge X operates 8 completely unmanned coffee shops, utilizing the Baris robotic arm to brew drinks based on orders placed via kiosks.
- Each store only requires one employee to drop by for about an hour every morning to restock ingredients and clean up.
- Business owners state that while revenues of traditional stores remain higher, the profit margins of unmanned models exceed 40%, compared to around 10% to 15% previously.
- South Korea faces an aging population and a very low birth rate, leading to an increasing shortage in the workforce.
- The government forecasts the population will drop from 51.8 million to 36.2 million by the year 2072.
- A self-service ramen shop owner evaluates that the model helps balance family life and business because there is no need to manage employees.
- Some customers prefer unmanned stores because they can dine in peace, enjoy flexible hours, and feel more comfortable.
- 📌 Conclusion: South Korea is turning automation into the solution for labor shortages and personnel costs. The emergence of around 9,000 unmanned stores, profit margins rising to over 40%, and the need for just one hour of maintenance per day demonstrate that robots and self-service models are increasingly viable. However, success still depends on a culture of compliance, customer acceptance, and the prolonged trend of population aging.
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