May 20, 2026
TOKYO – Lawson, Inc. has introduced an instructional video to help foreign customers buy hot food sold near cash registers, in an effort to boost sales.
Customers can access the video by tapping their phones on smart tags at convenience stores. The video, which can be viewed in English, Chinese or Korean, explains how to purchase the popular karaage-kun fried chicken and pay to enter lotteries for anime character items, with every ticket winning a prize.
Customers can also play an augmented reality game featuring the karaage-kun characters.
The new service was launched to better serve foreign customers, many of whom are unfamiliar with the lotteries and how to purchase hot food, which involves sanitizing your hands before removing from it display cases. The company hopes the initiative generates more interest in its products.
The service, which is still being trialed, will be offered at three stores in Tokyo through the end of this month. Depending on how the initiative goes, Lawson may expand the service to additional stores and products such as coffee.