Unmanned retail stores are no longer a novelty in South Korea, as many community convenience stores do not have staff during nighttime hours. With some young operators introducing this concept into industries such as seafood shops, meat shops, clothing stores, and pet shops, unmanned retail stores have recently shown a clear trend of expansion and diversification in South Korea.
 
There is currently no comprehensive statistical data on unmanned retail stores in South Korea. However, a survey conducted by the South Korean fire department from 2022 to 2023 showed that there were at least 6300 such shops in South Korea.
 
A survey conducted by South Korean market research agency on 1000 people showed that 71.9% of respondents had visited unmanned stores, of which about 80% expressed willingness to visit again. One of the main reasons why they like to shop in unmanned stores is that they don't need to deal with service personnel.
 
37 year old consumer Wu Yien said that when shopping in such stores, there is no hidden discrimination from store staff because they do not consume or only buy small items, and these stores usually have a wide variety of products and cheaper prices.