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China's second-largest e-commerce business has built up an
extensive logistics network and is investing heavily in drones,
robotics and automation.
"Sooner or later, our entire industry will be operated by AI
(artificial intelligence) and robots, not humans," Richard Liu
said retail executives at the annual World Retail Congress in
Madrid.
JD.com has expanded heavily into luxury goods, apparel and
offline retail over the past year in an effort to tap new
consumers, echoing similar efforts by bigger rival Alibaba Group
Holding.
However, Liu said he thinks it will take another decade for
technology and shoppers to be ready for fully automated stores.
"We have to make a lot of innovation every day and never stop
... Reduce cost and improve customer experience. That's all,"
Liu said of his business philosophy.
Amazon.com opened its first checkout-free grocery store in
January.
Liu also said that Western retailers were shielded somewhat from
the sector's rapid pace of change by the loyalty of their
customers, in contrast with China, where shoppers prefer to try
something new and are more demanding in terms of delivery speed.
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by David Goodman)
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