SenseMart OS Debuts With 0.3 Staff per Store, Half-Year Payback

On September 23, SenseMart Shanhui, an ecosystem company under SenseTime, launched SenseMart OS, a retail physical operating system, using its Shaomaigou robot convenience stores as the deployment vehicle. The platform aims to integrate robot hardware, store operations, and franchise networks for unmanned retail.

SenseMart OS connects upward with robot hardware manufacturers and downward with unmanned retail operators and franchisees, covering the chain from hardware integration to store management. The company says the goal is to reduce retail stores' dependence on labor and improve the efficiency of replicating single sites.

According to SenseMart Shanhui, Shaomaigou stores average about 0.2 to 0.3 staff per store, and one operator can support three to five stores. At premium locations in Shanghai, the payback period is roughly six months to one year, a metric the company highlights as central to its business model.

The stores have already opened more than 20 locations across Shanghai, Hefei, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Yancheng, and other cities, indicating that the light-labor model is moving toward scaled replication. The launch marks a push to standardize retail robotics operations.