Long known for pushing the envelope on practically everything, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is shifting its focus towards more traditional retail.
Amazon has been involved in bricks and mortar retailing for a little while now, opening up physical bookstores in San Diego, Portland Oregon, and its hometown of Seattle, with locations planned soon for Chicago and Boston.
These bookstores are very much like traditional alternatives. Amazon is able to use its purchasing power to get good prices from suppliers, and the company views them more as a marketing opportunity than a retailing opportunity.
Amazon’s newest test project is much cooler. The company is testing technology through what it calls an Amazon Go store in Seattle that will allow customers to come in, scan their phones at the entrance, pick up whatever they want, and then leave without having to go through the traditional checkout process.
The technology, which Amazon calls "Just Walk Out", works something like this. Sensors identify a certain shopper is buying various items. It then links these items to the shopper’s Amazon account. This eliminates the need for the customer to go to the register and get checked out. Sensors know when an item is picked up or put back down again.
The concept store will be 1,800 square feet and will feature ready-to-eat meal options, snacks, grocery essentials, and Amazon Meal Kits, which contain all the ingredients needed to make a meal in 30 minutes or less.
If it works, Amazon’s new store could revolutionize retail as we know it. Not only will stores be able to cut down on both staff and losses from theft this way, but customers may also be more likely to buy things traditionally. Both the retail and tech world will be watching this experiment closely.
