Staff-free shopping
Japan’s shift to online shopping, accelerated by two years of on-again, off-again state of emergencies, has made the average shopper realize how nice it is to browse in peace. The country’s customer service is highly lauded, especially by first-time visitors, but we can all agree it can feel a bit intrusive when you are not in the mood to be waited on quite so attentively.
Enter the age of the staffless shop. It’s an idea that has popped up in fashion several times, but never became a permanent concept on any scale, outside of the odd clothes-selling vending machine.