(Yicai Global) July 10 -- The unstaffed retail shop of Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. [NYSE:BABA] recently officially opened in its hometown of Hangzhou.

This unmanned retail shop named Taocafe officially opened July 8, chinanews.com reported .

On that day, Alibaba chief executive Zhang Yong visited Taocafe and showed how to shop there. Customers first need to open their Taobao app on mobile phones, and then scan the QR code to enter the shop, whereupon they may dispense with their phones.

Zhang ordered a matcha (green tea) ice-cream cone and exited the premises via a payment door whose system automatically debited his account to conclude payment in mere seconds.

That same day, however, Zhang denied rumors Alibaba will open Taocafes at multiple locations, saying its initial purpose is to serve those hoping to run a cafe by helping them easily establish a smart cafe, rather than Alibaba running such establishments itself.

The services Alibaba offers to such shops consists of standard technologies such as digital and technological platforms, payment, accounts, facial recognition and voice interaction technologies, he said.

We should keep an open mind with unstaffed retail shops, Zheng Gang, the director of the Zhejiang University Technology Venture Program, told chinanews.com.  "Whether these shops can become popular depends on whether they offer what we need, rather than the presence of staff," he added.

Nevertheless, Zheng holds the opinion that as labor costs in China are cheap, robot shops are not a necessary market focus.