"Enjoy Without Judgment"... Unmanned Stores Become MZ Generation Hangouts in China [China.zip]

Popular for 24/7 Operation and Affordable Prices

Growth Trend as Stores Face No Labor or Rental Costs

Gaining Traction for Easy Use and No Need for Contact with Others

Editor's NoteThis is a serialized feature that delves into interesting and complex stories about China's vast economy, society, and culture, providing only the essentials by 'unpacking' them for you.

Recently, unmanned service stores operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year have become popular in China. As their reach expands to include cafes (teahouses), convenience stores, board game and mahjong rooms, DIY bead workshops, gyms, and karaoke rooms, they have established themselves as popular hangouts where Millennials & Gen Z can enjoy their leisure time.

Sina Finance recently highlighted the surge in unmanned stores, diagnosing it as “the result of the positive changes brought by digital technology to the lifestyle service industry.” Traditional board game rooms, mahjong rooms, and billiard halls often struggled to operate due to the burden of labor and rent costs, but unmanned systems have transformed them into favored leisure spaces for younger generations.

No Contact and More Freedom... Popular Among Younger Generations

Recently, unmanned service stores operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year have become popular in China. Xiaohongshu.

Recently, unmanned service stores operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year have become popular in China. Xiaohongshu.

Unmanned stores are attracting the attention of younger generations by eliminating the need to interact or converse with others. Customers reserve their desired store and time slot via a dedicated application (app), then enter using a QR code or facial recognition, with fees charged by the hour. Inside, there are vending machines for beverages and shared power banks, among other amenities.

Xiaoyi, a university student, said, “For less than 20 yuan per hour, you can freely buy drinks and snacks from the vending machines, so I often use the unmanned billiard hall,” adding, “It’s also great that I don’t have to worry about being teased for not being good at billiards.”

A Rapidly Growing Market in China

Chinese Millennials and Gen Z celebrating a birthday party at an unmanned karaoke room. Xiaohongshu.

According to a report from the China Industry Research Institute, the size of China’s unmanned economy market exceeded about 1.5 trillion yuan last year, and is expected to reach about 1.8 trillion yuan this year. Among these, unmanned stores surpassed 30 billion yuan in revenue last year and have maintained over 20% growth in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.

In particular, unmanned mahjong rooms and related stores exceeded 52,000 as of the first half of this year. Over the past three years, they have recorded impressive annual growth rates of 25% to 35%. 'Pofriends', a leading unmanned mahjong room brand, expanded to over 14,000 locations in more than 300 cities nationwide within four years since its establishment in 2022. While 100,000 new billiard businesses opened in China last year alone, unmanned billiard hall brands Xiaotie and Tanshaoyu have each rapidly expanded to over 7,000 stores. Additionally, various types of unmanned self-service teahouses and other venues are steadily appearing. These spaces are also used for quiet solo relaxation, studying, or small group meetings, even when there are no specific activities planned.

Driving this trend is support from the Chinese government. The mid- to long-term economic development strategies of the Chinese government, such as the 15th Five-Year Plan and the 'six major network infrastructure' initiative, have established institutional and technological foundations for the development of smart retail. The combination of advanced communications networks, AI recognition, and intelligent data analysis has made it possible to remotely control store equipment, place orders, and monitor platforms. Warehouse inventory replenishment, delivery, self-pickup, and even courier services have also been developed into unmanned, automated processes.

Challenges: Security, Minors, and Hygiene Management

Unmanned mahjong room and billiard hall. Xiaohongshu.

As the market experiences rapid growth, a number of problems are also emerging. Safety issues, such as insufficient fire facilities and evacuation routes to prepare for emergencies, have surfaced. The lack of on-site staff increases the risk of accidents or crime, prompting calls for urgent updates to relevant laws and systems.

Concerns over the protection of minors and security are especially serious. There are inadequate tools to genuinely restrict minors from entering, and there are no clear guidelines for verifying identities. Some stores do not impose any restrictions at all on minors' entry. The boundaries of regulatory responsibilities between the fire department, public security bureau, market supervision office, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism remain ambiguous, making legal loopholes more likely to occur.

An employee at a board game room commented, “In principle, minors are prohibited from entering at night, but since inspections are rare, few people actually care on site." The employee added, “Because it’s difficult to judge age based solely on appearance, business owners tend to hush it up and let it go.” Similarly, a bead workshop staff member explained that teenagers can spend all day crafting beads, “as long as they make a reservation and visit.” The insistence is that because entry is only allowed via QR code (or password), there are no safety risks.

To counteract these side effects, local governments have begun to respond. Zhejiang Province has introduced an early warning system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically trigger alerts when minors enter facilities early in the morning. In some regions, there is a leading movement to post signs restricting entry of minors, designate nighttime hours when minors are banned from entry, and so on.

Local experts advise consumers to use places equipped with CCTV, real-name reservation systems, and signs prohibiting minors from entering, and strongly recommend “carefully checking the locations of emergency exits and fire extinguishers at night.” They emphasize, “For unmanned businesses to continue to develop, regulatory loopholes must be closed and safety should be prioritized through proactive policy efforts.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.