Amazon Go Grocery stores challenge the status quo of supermarkets.
Amazon Go Grocery stores have eliminated human interaction, including lines and checkout registers, from buying groceries. To shop at this futuristic market, you have to have an Amazon account, the Amazon Go app, and a mobile phone. At the gate of the market, you scan a QR code from the app, enter, grab what you want, and leave.
Amazon’s Just Walk Out Technology uses computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning to detect and track what products have been taken. Your Amazon account is then charged, and your receipt is sent to you, resulting in a seamless shopping experience.
Amazon has been in the grocery market industry since 2017 when the company bought Whole Foods, integrating its Prime deals with the market. From then on, Amazon built a base of consumers for its physical stores. Then in September 2020, Amazon Fresh stores were launched.
Unlike Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Fresh is like any typical market, boasting low prices for organic and conventional products and brands. Amazon Fresh has allowed Amazon to further establish itself as not just an online retailer but also a national grocery provider. There are now 11 Amazon Fresh stores in the United States and one store in London.
These Amazon Go Grocery stores are also not the first time Amazon has implemented Just Walk Out Technology. The company’s Amazon Go convenience stores, launched in 2018, follow the same layout and have 28 locations now.
Amazon currently only has Go Grocery campuses in Seattle and Redmond, Washington, and it is uncertain how many more are coming. But, with Amazon’s evident desire to expand its market reach, it would not be surprising if the company continues to develop this subsidiary.
These days, it really does seem like Amazon’s industry reach knows no bounds. The company has made a name for itself in the retail, delivery, movie, and now food industry. Buying groceries at one of its stores is now a fun, exciting experience.
But, how long will it be before this experience becomes the norm and is no longer a new adventure? The threat of automation eliminating more jobs is constantly looming over our heads and rightfully so; the number of industrial robot jobs increases by about 14% every year. Some argue that using automation can lead to employees being more productive and the company reaping the financial benefits of not hiring as many workers. At the same time, the “human element” is incredibly valuable. Machines cannot analyze a problem, solve it, and learn from it like humans can. They also cannot deal with social and emotional affairs.
But, perhaps those qualities are irrelevant with these Amazon Go Grocery stores and other establishments like them where people are trying to avoid human interaction. It is unclear as to the effects automation will have in the future and how many stores will adopt the Just Walk Out Technology. For now, Amazon just continues to engage new shoppers.
