Shopping

The recent renovation of the Qingdao Mixc's Phase I and II Connection Area represents a bold statement of innovative design. Within Beyond Studio reimagines the integration of leisure and commerce by incorporating a sky-high skatepark.

Whether at the shopping mall or tasked with moving stuff around the office, you've likely had to deal with a cart with a wonky wheel at some point. Help could be on the way in the shape of a flying cart named the Palletrone.

Drivers of EVs looking to stock up on snacks while waiting for their vehicles to charge could soon find a cashier-free mini convenience store popping up at charging stations across the US courtesy of a startup based in North Carolina.

Around this time last year, robotics startup Nuro was granted a deployment permit in California for its autonomous delivery vehicle. Now the company has partnered with convenience store chain 7-Eleven for the first commercial delivery service.

Robots are an increasingly common sight in stores, and now they’re getting a bit more hands-on. Japanese company Telexistence has begun trials in convenience stores of a robot shelf-stacker that can be controlled by a human via VR.

Convenience stores that rely on technology instead of cashiers to keep things ticking over might sound like a futuristic notion, but there are a number of such concepts being tested around the world. 7-Eleven is the latest to enter the fray.

​While many kids do like pushing grocery carts, they can get kind of over-enthusiastic about it, and often run into things as a result. It was with this supermarket hazard in mind that Ford recently created the one-off Self-Braking Trolley.

​If you lead a car-free lifestyle, then you likely have to transfer your groceries from the store's shopping cart to your own hand cart or bicycle trailer in order to get them home. Gudrun and Harald Buschbacher have decided to address that situation, with their multifunctional shopping trolley.

​Amazon’s hi-tech, cashier-free convenience store has just opened to the public and predictably resulted in torrents of “store of the future” headlines. But is it really the future of shopping or is it just a very expensive publicity stunt?

​Machines already play a part in the shopping experience for many, with self-checkout kiosks popping up in stores all over the world. They now continue their push into retail, with Walmart expanding its trials of robots that roam the aisles for sections in need of attention.​​

​What's easier than writing a shopping list with a pen and paper? Well, maybe nothing, although the makers of Lystr would beg to differ. Their device plugs into a wall outlet in your kitchen, creating a shopping list on your smartphone by scanning barcodes and listening for its name to be spoken.

​Innovative Swedish company Wheelys is opening up the world’s first app-controlled, staff-free convenience store in Shanghai. Accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the prototype store is designed to make it cheaper and easier for small businesses to get into the retail game.