tap, shop, walk out: b.c.’s first cashierless stores open in lower mainland
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operations manager haroon hilal at cashierless grocery store, aisle 24, on robson street in vancouver.
arlen redekop
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on a thursday morning in vancouver’s west end, anthony cao tapped an app on his phone — and the doors of a convenience store automatically unlocked.
taking a short break from his work at a nearby construction site, cao stepped into aisle 24, a new cashierless store at 1450 robson st., where there are no staff and no closing hours. after selecting a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge, he scanned it at a self-checkout kiosk, paid and walked out.
the entire shopping trip took less than three minutes.
“the prices are more expensive than the grocery store,” cao told postmedia, “but it’s two blocks closer … and has no lineups, which saves me time.”
cashierless shopping is gaining traction in b.c. the province’s first stores — aisle 24 in downtown vancouver and richmond, and farmers on duty in squamish — are offering round-the-clock, self-serve grocery shopping.
inside aisle 24, shelves are stocked with snacks, drinks and essential items — including pet food, over-the-counter medicine and personal hygiene products. shoppers pick up what they need and head to a self-checkout kiosk.
since the downtown store’s opening a month ago, operations manager haroon hilal says it now sees roughly 30 customer visits per day.
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signs inside inform customers of the store’s ai-monitored surveillance cameras, which use facial recognition to flag suspicious behaviour, such as when someone appears to take more items than they pay for.
hilal says that because entry requires a credit card authenticated through the company app, theft risk remains relatively low.
“people in the city are just very busy and don’t want to spend hours going to the grocery store,” he said.
cashierless store, aisle 24 on robson street in vancouver, bc, september 18, 2025.
arlen redekop
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in july, the brand opened a second b.c. location in richmond at 5788 gilbert rd. it is aiming to open its next location in burnaby this fall.
“cashierless shopping has already taken off on the east coast,” according to hilal. “aisle 24 has 30 stores in ontario already.”
while aisle 24 targets busy city shoppers seeking speed and convenience, squamish is taking cashierless shopping in a different direction — one rooted in local products and community trust.
farmers on duty, which opened a cashierless store just a month ago in the squamish town hub, is restocked daily at 6 a.m. with items including milk, bread, produce and fish.
owner felipe hidalgo says the concept has quickly become popular.
“we see about 100 customers a day, mostly during late evenings and early mornings when other stores are closed.”
inside the new cashierless produce store in squamish, farmers on duty. handout photo. credit: felipe hidalgo.
felipe hidalgo
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to enter the store at the local barn in the squamish town hub, customers scan a qr code on their smartphones, visit a webpage and enter their email.
prices are comparable to local grocery stores, but the products are fresher, the owner said.
“normally, when you buy produce in grocery stores, it’s not fresh. it’s often shipped from mexico or the u.s., and has less life left in it.”
farmers on duty sells products from local farmers, who drop them off at the company’s squamish warehouse. they are packaged for sale and placed on store shelves.
unlike aisle 24, which requires credit card authentication through an app, farmers on duty relies on customer trust, requiring only an email address and debit or credit card to shop. the store is also monitored by security cameras.
“think of your typical farmer’s stand,” said katie salzborn, the store manager. “squamish is a community built on that same small-town trust.”
farmers on duty has plans to open a second cashierless store location this winter in west vancouver.
“we believe that technology cannot only improve the lives of shoppers, but of farmers as well,” salzborn said.
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