What it’s like to shop at Southeast Asia’s smartest, most Instagrammable supermarket

Honestbee created a buzz when it launched its first brick-and-mortar store in Singapore, which is touted to have a couple of world firsts – the first checkout system that requires almost no intervention from the shopper, and the first grocery collection system that relies entirely on robots.

See: Behind Honestbee’s big offline move and rapid expansion to 1,000 employees

These features, along with many others, make it the “smartest” supermarket in Southeast Asia – though the verdict is still pending on its actual benefits to shoppers. Below is a visual walkthrough of what it’s like to shop at Habitat at Honestbee. (All photos and videos by Tech in Asia.)

The Habitat lobby is a wall (and ceiling) of green. To enter and exit, you’ll need to register on Honestbee. This helps keep out shoplifters, too. Not shown: you can actually buy flowers at the entrance in case your wife’s unhappy, jokes celebrity Bobby Tonelli, who was there to entertain press visitors.

The store houses over 20,000 items and 15 food concepts. The high ceiling gives a spacious feel, and the abundant windows and natural lighting help with taking good snaps. An over-the-air conveyer belt transfers goods to the packing room that are then shipped out to customers.

This is how a “bee” transports goods from the shelves at Habitat to the packing room.

Dry-aged beef on display. The store is not located in the city center, which means it’s counting on gourmet offerings like these to draw in foodies.

Fresh seafood is available.