ZEENAT MOORAD: Bigger, better, cashierless Amazon
The global powerhouse is said to be testing cashierless technology for bigger stores
Two years ago, Amazon debuted its plan for brick-and-mortar shopping without cashiers in its 167m² Amazon Go store in Seattle. The cashierless system is now in use at seven Amazon Go stores in Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco — each is typically less than 230m² and a system tracks what customers pick from shelves and charges them automatically when they leave the store. Now the global powerhouse is said to be testing cashierless technology for bigger stores. Naturally, on everyone’s mind is the possible use of this technology at Whole Foods stores and what the impact on jobs will be. If you need a reminder, Amazon acquired high-end US grocer Whole Foods for roughly $13.5bn in 2017, giving it about 470 grocery stores. Amazon’s official line is that it has no plans to add the technology to Whole Foods. If it does, though, it would require significant work. Whole Foods stores are large (typically 3,700m²) and carry over 30,000 items. Also, Whole Foods sales are driven by produce item...
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