Beijing’s first nearly-unattended flower shop has so far proven a success, though the shop owner said he's still experimenting with the new business concept.

The owner, Wang, an early-twenties college graduate, said he was at first inspired to curtail his shop's customer service because he is a web novel fanatic, and going to the shop to wait on customers distracted him from reading. Wang attributes his success to the fact that young people nowadays prefer to look around and shop on their own rather than be guided by a salesperson. Additionally, aided by new payment platforms such as WeChat Wallet and Alipay, transactions require little more than a QR code.

“Young people are open-minded and trustworthy, so I don’t think they will steal the flowers,” Wang said, adding that he still goes to the shop on occasion.