Amazon's Tech-Driven Convenience Store

This is what retail disruption looks like at Amazon Go: no POS, no cash, no clerks, no lines.

December 06, 2016

SEATTLE – The Seattle Times reports that Amazon is realizing big opportunities “in revolutionizing the staid traditions of Main Street commerce” with its new Amazon Go brick-and-mortar store.

At 1,800 square feet, Amazon Go is a convenience store in downtown Seattle “that deploys a gaggle of technologies similar to those used in self-driving cars,” per the news source, adding that if the concept pans out, it could “radically transform” the retail industry.

According to Amazon: “Four years ago we asked ourselves: What if we could create a shopping experience with no lines and no checkout? Could we push the boundaries of computer vision and machine learning to create a store where customers could simply take what they want and go?”

Amazon Go is open to Amazon employees participating in a testing program, and is expected to open to the public in early 2017. The retailer uses Just Walk Out technology that combines computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning.

“Our Just Walk Out technology automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart. When you’re done shopping, you can just leave the store. Shortly after, we’ll charge your Amazon account and send you a receipt.”

The retailer calls Amazon Go a new kind of store with no checkout required. “We created the world’s most advanced shopping technology so you never have to wait in line. With our Just Walk Out Shopping experience, simply use the Amazon Go app to enter the store, take the products you want, and go! No lines, no checkout. (No, seriously.)”

The store offers ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack options made fresh every day by on-site chefs and local kitchens and bakeries. There’s also a selection of grocery items that range from staples like bread and milk to artisan cheeses and locally made chocolates. For a home-cooked dinner, customers can also pick up chef-designed Amazon Meal Kits, with all the ingredients needed to make a meal for two in about 30 minutes.

Watch a video on YouTube of how Amazon is melding technology and retail into its new concept.

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