Amazon Go Checkout-less Store

The internet based retail giant that has monopolized e-commerce and revolutionized the retail industry and how consumers get their goods, Amazon now offers books, DVDs, CDs, online streaming, electronics, and a whole lot more. It has recently announced another innovation that will soon change the way we make our purchases from groceries and stores. It started with a simple premise of eliminating the lines at the checkout counter and simply walking out with your purchases.

Amazon Go seems like an interesting idea which strikes excitement with the masses, here are some of the fascinating things you need to know before it goes live:

•  How does it work?

A store is in the works in Seattle Washington that will sell Amazon goods for a customer who would want to buy their products in person. The thought-provoking idea about this new store is that people can just get stuff and leave. Curious? You should be. Amazon calls it the “Just Walk Out” technology where customers get their items and just go.

The customers will need the Amazon Go app to enter the store, and with a bunch of sensors, deep learning codes, and computer vision keep track of what is purchased. Things placed in the visual shopping cart get charged on the user’s Amazon account with a receipt. Amazon Go will provide an entirely new shopping experience where you no longer need to stand in line and wait for your items to be checked out.

This new technology will track the items that get placed in the customer’s back and immediately update the customer’s Amazon account. When the item is removed from the store, a receipt of the charges is automatically triggered. Customers don’t have to worry about the items that they mulled over since the technology will take it out of the virtual cart automatically. Shopping will never be as efficient.

• What can we buy?

This year, Amazon has started with a lot of physical retail stores which includes Amazon Books and AmazonFresh.  It is said that Amazon Go will have a culmination of all the product offerings and according to Amazon “Our selection of grocery essentials ranges from staples like bread and milk to artisan cheeses and locally made chocolates. You’ll find well-known brands we love, plus special finds we’re excited to introduce to customers. For a quick home-cooked dinner, pick up one of our chef-designed Amazon Meal Kits, with all the ingredients you need to make a meal for two in about 30 minutes.”

• How does it help?

According to reports, Amazon aims to be in 2000 locations with groceries and convenience and possibly other formats across the country which may include a drive-thru. The idea of going in and walking out with your purchase will greatly reduce the time spent and make your shopping extremely hassle free. It may seem like a weird way of shopping but the items are heavily tracked and a customer would first need an Amazon account.

The process is planned to eliminate the long queue when checking out the items successfully. Imagine doing your grocery shopping for Holiday dinner, but the idea that was not unique to you, with half of the country is also in the grocery with you doing the same exact thing. You’ll be worried about the time spent standing in a checkout line instead of doing other productive things. The app act ally works by theoretically tallying the items you put in your bag and gets checked out real time, by the time you finish your shopping list, all that’s left to do is bring it to your vehicle and drive home.

• Check out automation benefits

The biggest problem with any store is the queue. Whether it is a line at the bank or a fast-food place, this is the one part of the process which consumes the most time with the consumer doing nothing but wait. By eliminating the queue, people can get more things done. Alternatively, this process also works for those who want to relax and enjoy their grocery shopping because now there is less hassle, and the whole process of buying can be done without any personal interaction.

• Improvement on the self-checkout.

There are already a lot of places where there is no longer any personnel on the checkout line. These self-help checkout counters are just a sequence of bar codes and credit card readers. The shopper tallies all his purchases with the use of the bar code. He then pays the total amount with the use of a credit card or debit card scanner in the same kiosk. After the purchase has been approved, the shopper leaves the store.

The use of a running checkout while picking up items all over the store means that the buyer is free to leave at any time. The checkout is done on the fly and in real time. If the shopper does not want an item, he only needs to drop off the item at a conspicuous place or where he picked it up, and that’s it.

There are inherent dangers to this method. The first one is that the shopper might not double check his purchases in the bag. For another, the system has to have a way to list purchases recorded as against the actual purchases in the bag.

This is an important innovation for the retail industry. It solves the problem for both leisurely shopping, as well as for those shopping in a rush and it works for both lean and peak shopping times.