Amazon is going to sell its technology for cashless stores to other retailers. The technology is already being used in the Amazon Go stores in the United States, but could now also be used by other supermarkets, such as the European Ahold/Delhaize or Carrefour.
Amazon Go technology allows you to walk into a store, grab the products you need and then walk out again. All this without having to pass a cash register and spend time loading and unloading your shopping trolley. Of course you don’t walk out of the shop without paying, this happens automatically.
The shops that use the Amazon Go technology are full of sensors, like cameras and sensors on the shelves where the products are stored. These sensors collect all the data and by means of artificial intelligence (AI) it can be detected which product is being picked by which customer.
Upon entry, you have to scan a customer card before the gate opens. This way, the shop knows who you are. Then you can go shopping and grab all the products you need, resetting products is also possible. As soon as you leave the store Amazon will automatically deduct the total amount of all products from your credit card and you will receive the invoice by email.
Amazon Go from small to large
In recent years, Amazon has opened a total of 26 Amazon Go stores, mostly small city stores with a limited assortment. Last month, however, Amazon opened the first fully-fledged large supermarket with Amazon Go technology. This first large store opened in Seattle and the technology is now being tested on a much larger scale.
Amazon Go technology available for other retailers
With the coming of the technology to the really big stores, Amazon has now also announced that it will sell the technology to other retailers. This would allow other supermarkets or department stores to roll out this concept as well.
The big advantage of cash-less shopping is that the retailer’s costs are reduced. Much less staff is needed, because the cash registers no longer need to be serviced. The question is of course how high the price tag of the technology is and for which retail chains it is interesting.
In recent years, retailers have already invested heavily in solutions to replace staff at the cash registers. For example, many supermarkets now have counters where you can scan and pay for your products yourself. This is the next step in shopping and, as far as we are concerned, a masterpiece in software development and artificial intelligence.
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