Amazon has made a splash in recent years with Amazon Go, a series of convenience stores—and more recently a full-fledged grocery store—in Seattle, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Now the company is offering to license the technology to other retailers.
A new website explains how Amazon's Just Walk Out technology works.
"We built Just Walk Out technology leveraging the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning," Amazon's FAQ says. "We provide all the necessary technologies to enable checkout-free shopping in a retailer's store and offer retailers 24/7 support via phone and email."
Amazon Go relies on an Amazon-branded app to help customers check into the store and then view their purchases after a shopping trip. In contrast, third-party Just Walk Out stores will be based on a credit card swipe. If customers want a receipt, they can enter an email address—which Amazon will remember for future visits.
And while Just Walk Out technology has the potential to reduce the number of people needed to staff a store, Amazon says it won't eliminate retail workers. Just Walk Out stores still need people to answer customer questions, restock shelves, and check ID for customers who want to buy alcohol. As Amazon puts it, retail workers will be "shifted to focus on more valuable activities."
Amazon says it can take "as little as a few weeks" to install Just Walk Out technology in a retail location. The company says it will "only collect the data needed to provide shoppers with an accurate receipt."
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