Pioneering new-age retail
(World News Science)

Using your phone as a wallet is old hat in China. Using it as a checkout counter? Not so much yet. But a prototype solution is in the making, and before large-scale adoption is off the ground, it has received early recognition from perhaps the world`s most independent and rigorous critics. In March, Germany-based iF Design Award, a key industry parameter, has granted WeChat Pay the laurel of being highly `customer-centric` for its smart retail innovation known as `Scan& Go`. As its name suggests, the function embedded in WeChat allows shoppers to check out without queuing at the cash register, shortening the payment procedure and overall increasing the turnover of shops. To be more specific,...