Amazon Expands Cashierless Technology With First Grocery Store
Ecommerce giant, Amazon, strikes again with their latest technological advancements in the grocery game. The tech company is no stranger to supermarkets, which is an $800 billion industry in the United States.
Amazon already owns and operates more than two dozen Go convenience and Go Grocery stores, which features their “Just Walk Out” technology, allowing customers to shop in a completely-cashierless environment due to a vast amount of cameras, sensors, and data-gathering tools. They also offer AmazonFresh Pickup services for Prime members, with online ordering and in-store pickup capabilities. Not to mention, three years ago Amazon acquired the upscale grocery chain, Whole Foods Market, for $13.7 billion.
Photo Courtesy of Amazon
Well now Amazon can add producing a unique chain of grocery stores to their repertoire. Amazon Fresh, the first brick-and-mortar of its kind, is slated to open to the general public in Los Angeles’ Woodland Hills neighborhood in the next few weeks. The new concept, which features smart carts and Alexa guides, challenges traditional grocery stores and big-box retailers.
The 35,000-square-foot store, which is open to invite-only guests right now, incorporates a mix of both in-store and online shopping with a multitude of high-tech features, such as:
Dash Carts, which allows shoppers to purchase items without waiting in checkout lines.
Voice-activated Echo Show smart displays, where customers can ask Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant for item location help or dinner suggestions.
A customer-service counter, with box-less and label-less transactions, for online orders, package pickups, and parcel returns.
Equipping the store with all these features was no easy task. The expanding offerings presented many new tech challenges, like keeping track of additional inventory, the weighing component of the carts, ensuring accurate customer receipts, and more. Nevertheless, Amazon keeps the customer experience at the forefront, attempting to shield shoppers from the technological complexities so they don’t have to learn new behaviors.
DID YOU KNOW?
While Amazon may be the biggest name in the market, it isn’t the only player. Two tech start-ups, AiFi and Grabango, are working on autonomous systems for big retailers doing battle with Amazon in a mounting checkout-less technology war.
While the initial storefronts will start in California and Illinois, perhaps if they’re successful they’ll make their way to the east coast!
Would you shop at a grocery store like this? What technology aspects would you be most excited about? Let us know in the comments below.