Amazon has announced that after a year of testing, they will be opening their first store that allows shoppers to literally "grab and go," and not have to wait in a Checkout line. The store uses numerous cameras to identify the shopper and what items they are choosing, which removes the need for billing. Purchases made by shoppers are billed to their credit cards as they leave the store.
Shoppers must first scan their Amazon Go smartphone app before entering the store. Sensors built on the shelves add items to the customer's bills and deletes any that are put back.
The store was opened to employees in December 2016. The store had some bugs earlier but now they managed to fix them. The technology behind "Amazon Go" is expected to remain a secret by Amazon.
Amazon is revolutionizing shopping
The ability to walk into a store, grab your items and just walk out is extremely more quick and convenient than standing in a long checkout line. This is Amazon making a major disruption to the shopping experience. Some experts compare this to Netflix conquering Blockbuster and Uber overpowering taxi service.
This new service could also lead to a decrease in the number of jobs as checkout clerks are no longer needed, as Amazon Go begins to take over and others attempt to replicate their stores.
This new technology also comes as more and more customers are turning to online shopping for their shopping needs including groceries and others have turned to organic and local products.
Amazon says that its new Amazon Go experience is valuing customers time. The store is nearly the size of a 7-Eleven. Amazon has said they are not planning any more stores.
Amazon has spent five years working on this revolutionary technology and says that they don't believe any other retailer can beat it. Amazon has described the interior of the store as a high-end convenience store.
Amazon offers basic selection to keep it simple
What makes it simple is that the store does not sell anything that can vary in weight, such as single pieces of fruit.
Pre-packaged sandwiches, salads and other items are in containers, which are tagged by a type of barcode that is read by Amazon's technology. The store also offers a simplified selection of grocery items such as milk, condiments, coffee, tea and toilet paper. One of the popular items in Amazon Go, is the ready to cook meal packages. The store can only hold 97 people including the staff.
This new service allows Amazon another glance into what the customer likes, dislikes and what they put back when they shop. This is not the first time, Amazon has opened a physical structured store. In 2015 they opened up Amazon Books, in 12 different locations.
