Five technology innovations in the global convenience

Convenience retailers are evolving their in-store features, adding technology to create theatre, deliver a better shopping experience, and keeping a focus on efficiency. Our team of analysts travel the world to see the latest innovations in different markets. Here we look at five standout innovations from convenience stores we have visited recently.

Key takeaways:

1. Enhancing shopper interactions: digital screens to dynamically display information and the use of an avatar to assist shoppers.

2. Elevate the dining experience: using robotics and automation to complete food and beverage orders.

3. Low-friction anti-shrinkage solution: smart button to alert staff in a high-traffic store location.

4. Redefining store coffee experience: ‘Wow Tap’ system to customise cold brews and espresso-based drinks.

5. Seamless smart checkout: AI-powered checkouts use computer vision to instantly identify items.

Shopper engagement: Lawson employs AI cameras and an avatar in-store

The new Real x Tech Lawson store in Takanawa Gateway City opened in June 2025, showcases several innovative technologies, with two standing out for their impact on customers’ experience and efficiency. First, digital screens on top of the shelves use AI cameras to analyse products picked up by customers. Screens then dynamically display information about discounts and related items. This creates a highly interactive and informative shopping experience.

Secondly, the 3D avatar checkout system  employee to remotely assist customers during checkout. This avatar can also communicate with visitors and verify their age for restricted purchases, such as alcohol and tobacco, streamlining the checkout process and providing a personalised touch. Technology initiatives such as these, alongside the extensive use of robots to automate tasks from cleaning and stocking shelves to delivering to nearby offices and even cooking the fried chicken, are why we've named this convenience store our store of the month.

Creating theatre: GS25 uses automation and robotics to wow shoppers

Entering GS25 Ground Blue 48 in South Korea, shoppers are greeted by an aisle of automated counters that serve ice cream, coffee and pizza. To save time, each booth has a self-checkout till for shoppers to place and collect their orders. This alleviates congestion at the staffed checkout during mealtimes.

For instance, the robotic arm in café25 counter can perform latte art on coffee, while the GOPIZZA automated kitchen can prepare a pizza from cold to piping hot in eight minutes through its meticulous automation process. Shoppers can watch the preparation process, which adds excitement in the shopper journey. The automation also reduces staff’s workload, enabling them to focus on shopper interactions and other tasks.

Read this report to discover more tech-led innovations in Korean convenience stores.

Anti-shrink: East of England Co-op revamps its store layout

One admirable innovation we’ve seen was in the Ipswich Station store recently opened by East of England Co-op: a solution for age-restricted/high shrink categories comprising vapes, spirits and tobacco. As the new store doesn’t have a customer service desk (the checkout comprises five card-only self-checkouts that sit alongside the front window), the retailer has put a visible locked cabinet near the checkouts alongside a set of drawers for tobacco. Shoppers can either press a button on the cabinet or a button alongside each SCO terminal, and the VoCoVo system will alert a colleague via their headset to retrieve the required item from the cabinet or the drawers. This seems to be a really smart, low-friction way of combining accessibility and security in a store with no kiosk.

Read this article to discover how the retailer highlights its convenience proposition by revamping its range and store layout.

Category inspiration: QuikTrip’s easy coffee drinks customisation

Meanwhile in the US, QuikTrip is redefining the convenience store coffee experience with its Coffee ‘Wow Tap’ system, as seen at its Dallas-area stores. The bar offers a wide range of hot and cold beverages, including customisable cold brews and espresso-based drinks, operated by a sleek touchscreen interface and engaging tap system. A large digital screen behind the bar enhances the experience, showcasing real-time drink options, promotional content, and brand storytelling, creating a café-like atmosphere within a convenience setting. For shoppers, it delivers a fast, engaging, and high-quality experience, while for the retailer, it aims to drive beverage sales and reduce labour requirements.

Efficiency and convenience: Couche-Tard adopts new smart checkouts

In June 2022, Couche-Tard announced plans to install Mashgin’s touchless smart checkouts in over 7,000 Circle K stores over three years.

The AI-powered checkouts use computer vision technology to instantly and automatically recognise items, removing the need for customers to manually scan barcodes, therefore saving them time. Customers place the products on the scanner bed and can pay within seconds. The technology is sophisticated enough to identify multiple items simultaneously with close to 100% accuracy.

As of January 2025, Mashgin's technology was available in more than 3,000 convenience stores. In April 2025, Mashgin reached the impressive milestone of 1 billion total transactions on its self-checkouts, with 440m transactions recorded in 2024.