Japan’s Narita Airport trials robot selling souvenirs to solve labour shortages

CHIBA - A robot is selling merchandise as part of a trial run at an unstaffed souvenir store at Narita Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture.

The trial, the first of its kind at domestic airports and commercial facilities, is being jointly conducted by Narita International Airport (NAA) with Nomura Research Institute (NRI), which developed the store. They are evaluating the approach as a possible solution for labour shortages in the future.

With an adorable, animal-like face, the robot is 1.2m tall, 1.8m long and a 60cm wide. It moves on a rail to fulfill customer orders. The store, which is a glass booth measuring 7m wide and 2.7m deep, has stacks of 12 different kinds of boxed souvenirs. The robot uses its tail, which serves as an arm with a sucker at its end, to pick up a box, place it down and bring it to the delivery window.

Pickru Store was installed on Oct 10 near domestic boarding gates at the airport’s Terminal 3, which is used by many passengers for budget airlines.

To buy souvenirs, shoppers browse via a panel showing the contents of the boxes and their prices. Payment is accepted via credit card or QR code. A purchase can be made in a minute and without a shop assistant. According to NAA, the store is used by an average of 20 people every day.

NRI is studying the potential of robots in providing an answer to serious labour shortages due to the decline in Japan’s working-age population. Narita Airport faces the issue of how to secure enough staff to handle the increase of arrivals and departures at its facility in the future. The airport’s operator decided to take part in the trial run as a possible solution that makes up for labour shortages.

NRI lists the advantages of the Pickru Store compared to regular unstaffed shops and vending machines as follows: The initial investment is small; there is no risk of shoplifting; the store can accommodate souvenir boxes in various sizes; and the robot’s physicality is eye-catching to passersby.

“In this country, it is presumed that there will be a shortage of about 7 million people in the working-age population in the near future,” said Mr Kenichiro Hiroto of NRI. “Labour shortages will pose a serious problem to the retail industry as well. We are exploring various styles of retailing by using robots. In this trial run, we’d like to examine customers’ reactions, too.”

Pickru Store will be open at the airport until Dec 15. NAA is planning to review the data from the trial run at the end of 2025 or early 2026. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK