Kommersant: VkusVill will open a store without cash registers and sellers in Moscow City 
shops without cash registers and sellers amid a pandemic and the risks of a return of coronavirus restrictions, Kommersant writes. The Russian company, caught in an LGBT scandal this year, decided to follow the example of the American online retailer Amazon.
One of the first points will open at the exit from the Delovoy Tsentr station of the Moscow Central Ring (MCC) in Moscow City. The cost of the store, taking into account the compact area, will be 12-15 million rubles, says Mikhail Burmistrov, general director of the consulting agency Infoline-Analytica. The expert predicts an attractive point economy, given the high traffic and the absence of staff costs.
The VkusVill chain has more than 1.3 thousand stores, 90 percent of which are equipped with self-checkout counters. The company has also installed over 300 micromarkets in business centers and offices and vending machines, including at MCC stations. Revenue of PJSC VkusVill for January-September 2021 according to Russian accounting standards (RAS) amounted to 112.9 billion rubles (in 2020 – 80.9 billion rubles), net loss – 1.9 billion rubles (in 2020 it was recorded profit of 1.2 billion rubles).
Amazon opened its first grocery store without checkouts and sellers in the US in 2018. At the entrance, the buyer must put his smartphone to the turnstile for authorization, and then select the product he needs. Special technology will be able to recognize what the visitor takes from the shelf and puts it back. After leaving the store, the amount of purchases will be automatically debited from your bank card.
In Russia, Metro tested this store format in 2019 in two Fasol supermarkets. In 2020, a similar store was launched by Azbuka Vkusa in Mosca City, but the experiment has now been suspended. A year ago, X5 Group opened Pyaterochka # Naletu stores. The company planned to launch 50 of these outlets in 2021, but by mid-October, only two are open. X5 Group promised to develop the project.
Slow store development may be due to technical problems, says Irina Bolotova, consultant at JosDeVries The Retail Company. Opening points of this format requires serious preparation in terms of software and equipment. She admits that against the backdrop of global logistics problems, retailers could have difficulties with the supply of surveillance cameras.
An obstacle to attracting buyers could be the need for universal authorization, says Anton Shulga. At the same time, Gazprombank analyst Marat Ibragimov recalls that investors are positive about such projects.
At the end of June, VkusVill got into a scandal after the release of a commercial featuring an LGBT family. Amid harsh criticism on social media, the company removed the video and apologized, and the family left Russia due to numerous threats.