SEATTLE, WA – No checkout, no registers, and no lines? Amazon says no way with its latest brick-and-mortar concept. Called Amazon Go, the format is looking to revolutionize the way customers shop by utilizing technology and mobile applications to kick start what it calls a shopping experience of the future.
“Four years ago, we started to wonder what would shopping look like if you could walk into a store, grab what you want, and just go,” Amazon states in its new video, detailing this entirely unique store concept that lets shoppers enter, shop, and leave with no in-between steps.
The new format works like this: Upon entering the store, shoppers will scan their mobile QR code from the Amazon Go app at a turnstile. Shoppers then can peruse the location’s selection of value-added prepared items and grocery staples, taking items off the shelf and walking out the door with no other steps. Watch yourself in the video below.
Amazon is utilizing a new form of software, what the company calls “just walk out technology,” which will update a shopper’s virtual cart automatically with items they pick up and put back. Once a shopper has the items they’re looking for, they simply walk straight from the aisle and out of the store. Amazon Go automatically charges their account and sends a receipt to their phone.
These new stores, different from the online retailer's Amazon Fresh model, are set to debut in Seattle early next year. Each store will boast a concise 1,800-square-feet of space, according to Business Insider, and will be filled with staples and ready-made selections that consumers want.
This futuristic technology, Amazon stated, was developed similarly to that of self-driving cars, utilizing deep-learning algorithisms and deep vision software.
As we previously reported, Amazon stated that it plans to open 2,000 retail stores by the end of 2018. Amazon has not yet clarified if its Amazon Go locations will be part of this plan, initially detailed for Amazon Fresh, or a separate goal.
With a new method of shopping in the works for the ever-changing consumer, AndNowUKnow will keep a close eye on store formats and their impact on the industry.
