Amazon Go Coming To New York

Amazon has announced plans to open an Amazon Go location in New York. Earlier this year, the eCommerce giant launched its first checkout-free convenience store market in Seattle. It recently opened two more locations in the city, which will make New York its first foray outside of Seattle.

“We plan to open Amazon Go in New York,” an Amazon spokesperson said, according to Reuters, though it was not revealed when the company plans to open the location. Amazon said in May that there are plans to also expand to Chicago and San Francisco as well.

At the first Seattle location, Amazon Go customers can choose from pre-made salads, sandwiches, snacks and meals, as wells as beer, wine and other beverages. Shelves are also stocked with produce, meat and Amazon meal kits. The second Seattle location had changes to its product selection: It doesn’t offer liquor and doesn’t carry certain staples, such as bread or milk. And, while some prepared foods in Amazon Go’s original store were made on the premises, the selection in the second store is provided by an Amazon facility in Seattle.

To reach new brick-and-mortar customers, Amazon included such high-tech conveniences as speedy checkout, which eliminates the need to wait in lines to pay upon exiting. Though Amazon Go doesn’t need cashiers, there are employees who perform such tasks as checking IDs for alcohol purchases and preparing food in the store’s kitchen.

To shop in the store, customers must first download the Amazon Go app on their mobile device and scan the app upon entering. Customers then proceed to shop, but don’t have to check out. Instead, the store uses cameras and sensors on shelves, as well as a computer vision system, to scan the items being purchased and automatically charge them to the shopper’s Amazon account.