Lotteria, Juicy among chains expanding self-service kiosks
South Korean food chains are looking to cope with rising wages.
As the nation’s tripartite wage commission of government, management, and labor decided to increase the minimum wage for 2019 by 10.9—the biggest increase rate in about two decades— more self-service kiosks are being introduced to South Korea’s fast food stores as part of efforts to cut costs.
Yonhap News Agency reports that Lotteria, the fast food chain of retail giant Lotte, said the company is seeking ways to cope with the expected hike in the minimum wage, including the simplification of management work.
Currently, Lotteria operates self-service kiosks, where guests scan the bar codes of their items and pay, at 750 out of its 1,350 stores across the nation. Such cashierless shops accounted for an estimated 40% of Lotteria’s sales in March this year, up from 24.1% last year.
Fruit juice franchise Juicy has also been introducing more self-service kiosks as part of efforts to help its store owners cut back on labor costs.
In October last year, two Juicy shops went cashierless for the first time, with the number of such stores rising to 17 at the end of last year. An additional 33 outlets set up self-service kiosks this year.
(Photo credit: Lotteria Facebook page)
