7-Eleven to Trial "In-Store Robots" — Aiming for Labor Reduction and Service Enhancement by Taking Over Restocking, Cleaning, and Customer Service

1. What's Started: In-Store Robots + Avatars "Simultaneous Implementation"

In September 2025, Seven-Eleven began testing the effectiveness of deploying multiple types of in-store robots and avatars (remote customer service) in the same store at the Arakawa Nishiohisa 7-chome store in Arakawa, Tokyo. The aim is to use technology to take over repetitive and peak-differentiated tasks such as restocking, cleaning, and customer service, and reallocate human resources to strengthening sales and creating sales floors. The test store is an existing store type with a "residential location and general layout," designed to assess the practicality of horizontal expansion. Impress Watch

The in-store robots primarily support restocking of beverages and alcoholic products, including walk-in refrigerators. By replacing backyard tasks, they stabilize restocking, reducing stockouts and disorganized displays—this is effective in balancing labor reduction and sales. Distribution News

2. Robots Already "Outside": Pilot Tests for Public Road Delivery

Seven is also venturing into public road delivery robots. In May 2025, they began a demonstration with two stores and four units in Hachioji, Tokyo. Customers order via the "7NOW" app and choose between robot or hand delivery. Delivery costs 330 yen, operating from 9:30 AM to 8:00 PM, with QR code authentication for receipt. They utilize robots from Suzuki and startup Lomby. The demonstration will continue until February of the following year to determine implementation feasibility. Asahi ShimbunArab NewsRobotics & Automation NewsMobilityPlaza

Supporting this "outside robot" initiative was the 2023 amendment to the Road Traffic Act. Low-speed, small-sized autonomous delivery robots meeting certain requirements can now operate on public roads under a notification system, advancing social implementation. The institutional framework is beginning to turn the wheels of both external delivery and in-store labor reduction. Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry+1

3. Why Labor Reduction Now: Demographics, 24-Hour Operation, and "Heavy Labor of Restocking"

In Japan's retail sector, the combination of labor shortages and wage increases makes it challenging to maintain 24-hour operations while managing restocking, cleaning, and customer service. Especially in Japanese convenience stores, characterized by small stores with high turnover, beverage restocking involves repetitive tasks of high frequency and heavy lifting in cold environments. This is an area where machines excel. Seven's strategy to redirect human resources to "Seven Cafe and Bakery (product strength enhancement)" is also a move to improve the quality of sales. Impress Watch

4. Differences with Overseas: Warehouse Robots vs. Japan's "In-Store Backyard Automation"

While automation in Western retail often centers on warehouses (fulfillment), Japan, with its many small stores in dense areas, finds that automating in-store and backyard processes yields a better ROI. Seven's North American strategy primarily focuses on scale expansion through M&A and new store openings, suggesting that the horizontal expansion of in-store robots may advance first in the Japanese market. Reuters

5. Competitor Trends: FamilyMart Mass-Producing "Beverage Restocking Robots," Lawson with "Avatar Customer Service"

FamilyMart announced and introduced the Telexistence "TX SCARA" in 2021-22, expanding to around 300 stores. Operating 24/7 for beverage restocking, they optimized store operations alongside task visualization. The idea of reallocating humans to customer service aligns with Seven's strategy. FamilyMart+1IT Leaders

Lawson partnered with avatar company AVITA to demonstrate and expand remote customer service across various locations. They are experimenting with work styles not bound by time or place, advancing solutions for late-night hours and multilingual support. LawsonAVITA Corporation

6. Seven's "Customer Service Avatar": From PoC at Expo to Stores

In the spring of 2025 at the Osaka-Kansai Expo, Seven demonstrated remote customer service using the avatar robot "newme" on NTT's IOWN network (supporting Japanese and English). After field testing for high-quality remote customer service, they laid the groundwork for store deployment. The test in Arakawa is a continuation of this effort. NTT

7. The "Key" to In-Store Robots is the Backyard: Changing Refrigerator Restocking

If restocking robots can enter and exit walk-in refrigerators and stably restock beverages and alcoholic products, it directly impacts reducing stockouts, maintaining appearance, and leveling human workload peaks. Processing from beverage cases to backyard to store shelves with sensors and arms allows humans to focus on ordering, display presentation, and recommended sales—a division of labor already suggested by FamilyMart's achievements. Distribution NewsFamilyMart

8. Legal Support and Future Expansion Potential

The April 2023 amendment to the Road Traffic Act provided a legal framework for remotely operated small vehicles (delivery robots), enabling public road operation under a notification system. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is organizing the social implementation of more capable delivery robots from 2024 to 2025, beginning to map out the collaboration between mobility and retail. This sets the stage for connecting external (delivery) and internal (restocking, cleaning, customer service) operations into a single operation. Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry+1Drone Journal

9. Business Impact: ROI, Safety, Customer Experience

• Sources of ROI: ① Reduction in stockout rates (reducing opportunity loss), ② Reduction in labor hours (especially during late-night hours), ③ Stability in cleaning quality, ④ Improvement in gross profit through sales enhancement (such as cafes and bakeries).

• Safety: The design of human-machine collaboration (low speed, stop, human detection) in backyard and in-store pathways, with redundancy in remote intervention, is key. Coexistence rules with pedestrians and bicycles are already established for public road delivery. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

• Customer Experience: Through avatars, providing multilingual guidance and self-checkout support, realizing a "convenience store without confusion" for visiting tourists. The Expo demonstration serves as a real-world operational test. NTT

10. Key Points for Overseas Readers

1. Japan is dominated by small stores: Automating in-store backyards yields cost-effectiveness.

2. Rapid legal development: Delivery robots are progressing with clear categorization (remotely operated small vehicles). ##HTML_TAG