One of Japan’s biggest convenience store chains testing walk-through cashless payment system

Japanese convenience stores are wonderful places, full of all sorts of delicious drinks and fabulous foods, from teas and coffees to onigiri rice balls and desserts. Having something for everyone, though, means that sometimes it feels like everyone is making a convenience store run at the same time as you are.

That can make the shopping experience, unfortunately, not so convenient as you wait in a long line to pay for your purchase. But convenience store chain Lawson is looking to eliminate that problem with its new Lawson Go store type, which allows you to completely skip the cash register by making walk-through cashless payments.

All you need to do prior to your arrival is download the Lawson Go app to your phone and register a credit card. The app will give you a QR code to display at the store’s entrance.

Inside the store, cameras follow shoppers’ movements, and the shelves have weight sensors that can confirm when an item has been picked up. That data is enough for the system to determine who’s taken what items, and so you can then just walk right out with them, and Lawson will bill your credit card plus send a digital receipt to you through the app.

Lawson isn’t ready to add the walk-through payment option to all of its stores just yet, but a special Lawson Go test store opened inside the Mitsubishi Shokuhin building in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward earlier this month, helping busy office workers grab lunch with less stress and more time to relax during their midday break, and if all goes well we might see more Lawson Go branches in busy business districts and other places where shoppers are often pressed for time, like train stations, in the future.