It’s the rise of the machines at a provision shop in Block 242 Hougang Street 22. Replacing the standard shopkeeper is a cash register machine installed with a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera where customers can ‘scan’ their items before calculating the total and paying for their goods. And if change is needed, they just press buttons on the machine to get $1 or 10 cent coins.
This concept by 54-year-old shop owner Alex Song was birthed after he experienced bad business at his new shop in the quiet neighbourhood. After three days of experimenting with circuits in September last year, the former Air Force technician came up with the machine, which is predominantly made of wood.
Ever since he implemented that change, he has saved over $20,000 in labour costs, according to TODAY.
So how does he prevent inevitable cases of theft? Well, the machine is embedded with two CCTV cameras on its ‘eyes’, and two other ones on its body. Four more cameras have been placed around the space, which is open daily from 11am to 9pm.
At first, Song started small, with snacks and drinks — but he has since included bicycles, ironing boards and prepaid top-up cards to his inventory after experiencing an overwhelming number of honest customers. Of course, there’s that 2 percent who can’t resist the temptation of stealing; he’s lost about $50 each month to petty theft, which he catches by totaling up the amount collected and the items scanned at closing.
When he discovers a culprit, he prints their pictures and posts them in his shop. Interestingly, most of them come back to confess their wrongdoings.
Unfortunately, Song admits he’s still making a loss, even with this change. He plans to keep working on improving his machine and perhaps relocating to a better area with more foot traffic.
Reader Interactions