Amazon Go To Grocery Shoppers: “Just Walk Out”

In grocery stores, those who “just walk out” typically find themselves paying for the item after a conversation with authorities. But as technology advances, the concept of the traditional checkout experience is changing — quickly.

Through video announcement, Amazon has released details on how its new Amazon Go grocery stores will work with its “Just Walk Out” technology. The first location will open its doors in early 2017 in Seattle and without traditional registers. Featuring grab-and-go meals, snacks and bakery items, the new Amazon technology enhances the experience with no lines and no waiting through a virtual shopping cart that processes what customers pick up to then charge them.

How does it work? Customers are allowed access to the store with their smartphone, which will already have the necessary Amazon Go app downloaded. They tap the digital turnstile and start perusing the store. Using a combination of sensors, computer vision and “deep learning,” Amazon says it can understand what each customer picks up and then adds it to their bill. If they put an item back, it senses that, too. When the customer leaves the store, the app bills the purchases to the customer’s card on file and pings over a receipt. The video likens the technology to that which is found in self-driving cars.

PYMNTS Karen Webster talked about the eight predictions that are keeping retail executives up and night. From commoditization of retail to the fact that commerce can thrive anywhere there is an internet connection, the new Amazon Go grocery stores may fit comfortably into solving some of those sleepless nights.

The first Amazon Go location will be 1,800 square feet and available at first only to its employees and then the public in early 2017.

Amazon has been expanding its brick-and-mortar options quite a bit recently. The company opened a showroom in Beijing’s popular shopping destination Sanlitun Square. Reportedly designed to look like a giant Amazon shipping container, the new showroom showcases imported goods from Amazon’s U.S. and U.K. websites. Consumers can reportedly browse, test and consult experts on a wide and varied selection. Customers can also buy them from Amazon’s Chinese site by scanning a product’s barcode with their mobile devices.