By SHO ITO/ Staff Writer
June 22, 2025 at 07:00 JST
Seven-Eleven Japan Co. is taking convenience to the next level by testing an unmanned delivery service using autonomous robots on public roads in Tokyo.
The operator of the Seven-Eleven store chain said it intends to put the service into practical use in preparation for a delivery staff shortage in the future.
It joins the growing ranks of companies that are either doing demo experiments or have started deliveries in limited areas against the backdrop of labor shortages in the distribution phase of operations.
Seven-Eleven’s delivery robot was jointly developed by startup Lomby Inc. and Suzuki Motor Corp.
It recognizes traffic signals, pedestrians and other obstacles. The device is fitted with eight cameras and remotely monitored. The robot has a top speed of 6 kph and delivers items ordered through the company’s delivery service, 7NOW.
Orders can be made via 7NOW’s dedicated app or website. Deliveries are made from the nearest convenience store. In exceptional cases, deliveries take only 20 minutes from placing an order.
Customers can order from around 3,000 products in stock at stores in their area.
Seven-Eleven views robot delivery services as one of its growth strategies and aims to reach 120 billion yen ($836 million) in sales in the business year ending in February 2031.
Deliveries are currently made by corporate partners commissioned by Seven-Eleven.
For the latest trial runs, store staff pack merchandise ordered by a customer into a compartment in the robot, which autonomously travels to the pickup location.
Upon delivery, the customer holds up their smartphone showing the app’s QR code to validate their order and retrieve the items.
Customers can choose to have their items delivered by hand or robotically when they place orders.
The trial run involving four robots is under way at two stores in the western Tokyo city of Hachioji. Orders are accepted between 9:30 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Each delivery costs 330 yen, including tax.
Covering at least 10,000 households, the demo experiment running until February 2026 is one of the largest undertaken in Japan.
“We deliberately targeted an area with slopes and an aging population to clarify the problems we would face ahead of putting the service into practical use,” said a Seven Eleven representative.
The company took note of growing demand for delivery services due to the popularity of online shopping, particularly from the viewpoint of driver shortages.
It also cited an increasing number of vulnerable customers, particularly elderly people who have trouble shopping for groceries and other items.
A revision to the Road Traffic Law that took effect in April 2023 allowed delivery robots on public streets once the operator had filed a report with prefectural authorities.
Many other companies are also conducting trial runs for autonomous delivery robots.
In November 2024, Panasonic Holdings Corp. conducted a demo experiment to deliver Yoshinoya Co.’s beef-on-rice dishes and other food items ordered through the Demae-can app in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Online shopping giant Rakuten Group Inc. has begun a robot delivery service in an area of Tokyo to transport merchandise from a Starbucks coffee shop and a FamilyMart convenience store.
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A Seven-Eleven convenience store clerk packs items into an autonomous delivery robot in the western Tokyo city of Hachioji on May 15. The robot is set to run automatically to deliver the order to a designated location. (Sho Ito)
