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Just a year after the launch of the Amazon Go supermarket, the web giant has announced that it plans to open 3,000 new stores. This includes the United Kingdom. Amazon would be able to turn the market upside down considerably.

The Amazon Go chain started as a concept store in Seattle. There, technology is used that Amazon describes as Just Walk Out Technology. A combination of computer vision, deep learning algorithms and sensors detects whether a customer is taking a product off the shelves and putting it in his or her basket. The technology also knows whether someone will return a product at a later date.

No unambiguous concept

There are currently four Amazon Go stores; three in Seattle and one in Chicago. The stores do not yet have an unambiguous concept: a store has an Albert Heijn To Go-like starting point and is in fact a small supermarket. The other one has a focus on freshly prepared food.

Now The Times reports that Amazon is currently planning to expand the concept considerably. The intention would be to open supermarkets of between 4,000 and 5,000 square metres. The Next Web states, based on sources within Amazon, that small-scale supermarkets will be opened that have more products than a traditional supermarket of the same size.

In both the United States and the United Kingdom, the supermarket landscape is overcrowded. However, Amazon thinks it has a big advantage over the rest with its cash-less shops. The shops are cheaper to run and work very easily. At the same time, the investment to open a cash-less shop is considerable. The first physical location would have cost millions in sensors and cameras.

This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.