College student opens first unwatched flower shop in Beijing

An unsupervised flower shop operated by a college student in Beijing is attracting many young customers, Chinese media reported.

Different from traditional shops in the capital, the young storekeeper surnamed Wang opened the first unsupervized flower shop where people can select flowers and pay via mobile payment systems including WeChat and Alipay.

Born after 1995 and a lover of fiction, the young man said he began the startup because it will not take up his time. "People go to flower shops at any time," he said. "I cannot focus on reading when I have to serve customers." So Wang opened the self-service flower shop after doing market research.

Most young customers like shopping in a free environment, and hate promotion from clerks, he explained, adding that customers can have their questions answered about categories and names of flowers through mobile apps.

Even though there is no shopkeeper, the operation has attracted many young customers and proved to be a success, at least for now.

Although he does not sell flowers in the shop in person, Wang said he would call at it at odd intervals everyday.

"It is a business with small investment, and it cannot cause a huge loss if a burglary occurs," he said, adding that he trusts people.