Flagship Convenience Store Robot Sales Venture Fails: Lab Tests Succeed, But Bottles Still Shatter on Shelves

In March 2025, Hongqi Chain, a leading convenience store chain in southwestern China, announced plans to develop a robot-based unattended vending system. After 16 months of development, the project was terminated in July 2026 because robots failed to meet commercial standards in real-world settings. Issues included high grab error rates with diverse products like glass bottles and soft packaging, visual recognition errors under varying lighting, and navigation difficulties in narrow aisles. While some robot retail deployments exist in cultural tourism sites and semi-open stores, the industry remains in a proof-of-concept stage, with costs exceeding potential revenue and full commercial viability expected in two to five years.