TOBY SHAPSHAK: E-commerce giant cuts out cashiers
Amazon Go has no tellers, no queues and no fuss — and a bold new vision of how shopping could look in the future
Last month I walked into a food store, helped myself to a meal and a beer, then walked out without paying. This was no ordinary store; it could be the future of shopping. The store, Amazon Go, is run by the American e-commerce giant opposite the iconic domes of its downtown Seattle headquarters. To get into the store, you download the Amazon Go app, which displays a QR (bar) code that you scan on a transit-like turnstile as you enter. In the ceiling and above the shelves is an array of sensors and cameras that monitor what you put into the bright orange bags you’re given upon entry. Only the products you put in the bag are eventually billed to you — which the store did automatically, minutes after I left. While looking through the salads, sandwiches and microwave meals in the refrigerated section, I had picked up a number of packages and put them back on the shelves. I wasn’t mistakenly billed for them. Amazon calls this "just walk out" technology, and it appears to work as advertis...
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