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Japanese convenience store plans to increase shoppers’ phone data capacity just for visiting

Elliot Hale Sep 23, 2024
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Lawson looks to kick-start convenience store of the future with a new phone service.

September 18 saw Mitsubishi, KDDI, and Lawson announce their exciting vision for the future of convenience stores, beginning with a new service they’ve dubbed: povo Data Oasis. By the end of 2024, KDDI, one of Japan’s telecom giants, will let users of their online-only mobile phone brand povo boost their data capacity simply by popping into a Lawson branch. With each visit you can recover 100 megabytes, up to a total of one gigabyte.

The best part of this is that you won’t even need to buy anything! Just open the povo app while you’re in the store, have your location confirmed through GPS and you’ll get your hands on that extra data. KDDI’s President and CEO, Makoto Takahashi, hopes this service will encourage more people to call into a nearby Lawson.

KDDI and Mitsubishi, each holding a 50-percent stake in Lawson, have teamed up to create Real x Tech Lawson, an initiative merging physical stores with the latest technology. The first of these futuristic stores will open in the spring 2025 in Tokyo’s Takanawa Gateway City mixed-use office/commercial/residential complex, to which KDDI is also moving its headquarters.

Lawson’s President, Sadanobu Takemasu, also talked about his ambitious plan to have just one employee running a store by 2030. Now while that sounds like it could be a lot of responsibilities for one little worker, through the clever use of robots for stocking shelves, cleaning and cooking, Sadanobu is hoping to optimize store operations and lighten the load. They’re also diving into quick commerce, which means lightning-fast deliveries with a fleet of delivery robots and drones.

Lining up at the register will also become a feature of the past, as customers of this new convenience store will be able to complete their payments simply by holding their smartphones over items taken from the shelves. Additionally, the store will install a remote customer service booth that will handle inquiries about daily life—from telecommunications and utilities to caregiving for elderly parents. And if all of that didn’t seem like enough, Lawson is planning a total revamp of its headquarters and store systems by 2028.

While we don’t have concrete details about all of the plans for this futuristic convenience store, news of povo Data Oasis and its free data recovery has set netizens abuzz.

“I need to move to a place with a Lawson on the first floor, like right now!”
“If you can get 100 megabytes per visit, that’s more than enough to play some location-based games!”
“Wow! We’re entering a new era! I hope Family Mart and 7-Eleven follow suit too!”
“It’s just going to increase the number of loiterers.”

The last commenter makes a great point. While we can expect more people to flock to Lawson stores, it’s true that some may just pop in for the free data without actually making any purchases. This could lead to more congestion for customers trying to grab their shopping.

However, this new phone service is fantastic news for folks who live and work near Lawson stores. Residents will get easy access to extra data while enjoying the convenience of their neighborhood store. Or maybe you are reaching your data limit on your travels around Japan? Never fear, swing into the nearest Lawson for a quick boost.

Source: CNET Japan via Hachima Kiko, Lawson
Top image: Pakutaso
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