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Online retail giant Amazon has launched a new supermarket which has has no checkout counter or self service tills.
The Amazon Go store located in Seattle, where the company is based, is full of ceiling-mounted cameras and electronic sensors which identify each customer and track the items they select. All purchases are then billed to customers’ credit cards when they leave the store.
Upon entering the 1,800 sq ft premises customers swipe their smartphones equipped with the Amazon Go app through electronic gates. They are then free to put any goods they wish to purchase straight into their carrier bags.
All items are scanned as they are picked up from the shelves and are automatically deleted from the customer’s account if they are put back.
There is no need for a trolley or basket and unless the customer needs to be ID’d for an alcohol purchase there is no need to interact with an Amazon member of staff at all.
While the Amazon Go store has been tested by Amazon employees since December 2016, there have been some early teething problems with some items not being charged or people with similar body types being misidentified.
Amazon has so far not said if it will be opening more Amazon Go stores and has also no plans to introduce the technology to its Whole Foods stores, which the company purchased last year for £10.7bn.
