Amazon’s first grocery store opened its doors today in Seattle – the Amazon Go Grocery Store. The store is cashierless and it has the “Just Walk Out” technology that already powers 25 Amazon Go convenience stores.
In this grocery store, people can shop for everyday grocery items just like in any other grocery shop out there – everything from meat, vegetables, dairy items, alcohol, household essentials, etc.
What is the “Just Walk Out” technology and how is it possible for the store to be cashierless?
Every customer of the store will first need to use the Amazon Go app which will be scanned upon arrival then simply continue shopping. The entire shop is packed with different types of sensors and cameras. They track all items that are being removed from a shelve and automatically get added to the customer’s virtual cart. Of course, when the shopper leaves the grocery store, the cart checks out automatically using the payment method they have signed up in their Amazon Go profile.
This means that there will be no long lines and no one will wait just to pay their groceries.
What will the staff do? They will be able to focus on restocking the shelves and help the customers.
Will there be a problem with this new shopping model?
As we previously mentioned, Amazon already uses this method in its convenience store but they go there and quickly grab items they need. When it comes to grocery shopping people take their time and examine the products they buy very carefully.
If a customer grabs something then puts it down in the wrong place, pushes something, maybe grab two items from different companies in order to compare them then switch their places then this customer might get something added to their cart and pay for it without actually taking it with them. This is a problem that traditional grocery stores do not face but when it comes to this one you might want to be careful.