12 yuan per kilogram, currently unmanned bookstore in the bustling area of Nanning, Guangxi
Multiple unmanned bookstores have quietly emerged in Nanning, Guangxi. The bookstores are located in major shopping malls and subway stations in Nanning, and self-service bookshelves are set up in limited spaces such as elevator corners and walls, operating in a fully open mode to customers. According to the store announcement, customers only need to take the selected books to the weighing area for weighing, and can purchase them at a price of 12 yuan per kilogram. After scanning the QR code for payment, they can take the books away.
A self owned bookstore located near the pedestrian street in Nanning, Guangxi. The store sells mostly second-hand books, which were collected from all over the country by the owner Ding Dazheng. The variety is diverse, ranging from educational materials to humanities and social science books, from magazine picture books, recipes to novels, and more.
There is a label on the bookshelf that says "genuine books, 12 yuan/jin" and details the purchase process. Customers can freely read the books on the bookshelf. If they find the books they are interested in, they just need to weigh them on the scale and scan the QR code to make payment, which is convenient and fast.
Since its opening in May, this unmanned bookstore has hardly had any incidents of book theft. Store owner Ding Dazheng believes that readers prefer books, respect knowledge and culture, and will not steal books.
When asked why he wanted to open an unmanned bookstore, Ding Dazheng said that relying on the traditional bookstore model would be difficult to survive. In the era of Internet sales model impacting physical bookstores and electronic reading impacting physical book reading, physical bookstores are innovating ways to "fight back". Unmanned bookstores are an innovation that provides consumers with a convenient way to access paper books by adopting a new "unmanned sales" model.
Unmanned bookstores make full use of the edge areas of shopping malls and subways, setting up a 30 centimeter bookshelf for people to read. This model can minimize water, electricity, and labor costs, while relying on the pedestrian flow of shopping malls and subway stations to obtain certain passenger flow and sales support.
In the process of operation, Mr. Ding found that although there are fewer incidents of book theft, the book loss rate is relatively high. Children may accidentally damage book accessories such as DVDs and postcards while reading. In order to reduce such uncivilized behavior, maintain the cleanliness and completeness of books, and improve the reading and purchasing experience of customers, Mr. Ding has installed surveillance cameras in the store.
Speaking of the future, Ding Dazheng hopes that unmanned bookstores can continue to operate, transmitting knowledge and integrity.
