Capital, Earnings & M&A
After Talking to a Dozen Unmanned Shelf Startups, We Want to Pour Cold Water on This Trend
According to incomplete statistics, at least 50 players have entered the unmanned shelf market, with over 2 billion yuan in funding. Founded in June 2015, Xiao e Weidian pivoted to unmanned shelves in the second half of last year, and founder Rong Guang predicted that many would soon notice this business model. However, the influx of capital, giants, and players quickly compressed that timeline. This article offers several responsible cautions and a few irresponsible predictions about the industry.
崔荪亚