How Suning’s Biu Unmanned Store Redefines Retail Experience with AI and Design

Biu Store Overview

“Biu” is Suning’s unmanned store concept, symbolizing youth, vitality and speed. Suning operates over 4,000 retail locations across various formats, and the Biu store integrates a suite of software applications, including a leading sales and payment system.

Key Systems

Suning Cloud POS – breaks traditional form‑filling, allowing any authorized online shopper to complete checkout, boosting staff efficiency and reducing training costs.

Store + App – mobile platform for staff covering membership, marketing, sales, analytics, inventory, order sharing and customer communication.

Shelf Management – uses big‑data analysis to guide product placement and provide data such as product popularity and heat detection.

Self‑checkout for supermarkets – a system launched three years ago that lets customers pay at a fixed kiosk, though it still places checkout responsibilities on shoppers.

QR‑code self‑purchase – customers scan a code with their phone to pay, a common solution for simple unmanned stores.

Unique Experience

The Biu store is not “unmanned” but “no‑phone”. Shoppers bind their face to the Suning Finance app, then enter, receive personalized recommendations, and complete checkout without queuing, achieving a truly frictionless shopping flow.

Design Challenges

Designers faced issues not present in pure online apps, such as ensuring “invisible” payment feels secure, handling precise recommendations in an open environment without compromising privacy, and balancing visual information on multiple screens to avoid overload.

Design Thinking

Suning adopts an open‑space design without barriers, aiming to reduce visual load by merging systems, adding voice prompts, and eventually recognizing user gestures and emotions. Designers also consider optimal content length and display duration on screens, as well as camera placement for reliable facial recognition across heights.

These insights form a nascent body of knowledge for future Biu store designs, guiding standards and best practices.