Cashier-free stores are 'next big thing', say VC firms

CHONGQING - Paying for your groceries by scanning a QR code on your smartphone is a perfectly normal thing to do in China today. As cold hard cash appears set to vanish into the mists of time, it seems that the cashiers are about to evaporate too.

Over the weekend, Yiqi Shan, a cashier-free store in Southwest China's Chongqing metropolis, registered its 1,800th sale, two weeks after opening.

The 24-hour convenience store is on the first floor of an office building in an industrial park. It offers various beverages, fast food and snacks in a space of just 12 square meters.