From being an online store, Amazon is taking a bold approach as it is set to launch Amazon Go, a grocery store set to provide shoppers with a "check out" free experience.
Currently in beta program, the brick and mortar store is set to open to the public in early 2017. At present, it is only serving company employees at its current location at 2131 7th Avenue in Seattle, Washington. Amazon Go is occupying a 1,800 square feet retail space.
With the new approach, shoppers can walk in, select the items they want to buy, and walk out of the store. In order to achieve this "check out" free experience, customers will have to download the app Amazon Go (also the name of the store). After downloading it, they will have to log in with their account information and put the items they bought from the shelves into their bags and leave the store.
With Amazon Go, Amazon is hoping to take offline shopping experience to the next level. The store is equipped with sensors, computer vision, and deep learning technology which allows it to track customers as they move about the store. When the customers change their minds about the goods they purchased, they simply have to put it back and Amazon immediately removes it from their bill.
According to estimates by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 3.4 million people working as cashiers in the United States. Amazon Go virtually eliminates the need for cashiers. Adding to that, there are 4.5 million people working as retail sales people and another 2.4 million as laborers that restock and move around.
With Amazon's new approach, robots will take the place of humans in the "cashout free" store. The company is already using robots in its warehouses to move around cargo and bring goods to humans for shipping. These same robots could be doing the restocking of shelves. With the exception of humans preparing the food, all Amazon Go stores could virtually operate without humans.
The opening of Amazon Go follows the launching of Amazon's first physical bookstore called Amazon Books at University Village in Seattle, Amazon's home city.