Free one-day shipping, Alexa, the Kindle Paperwhite, the Fire TV and, of course, the Echo: These are just some of the many convenient and innovative products and services Amazon (AMZN) -) has brought us over the years.
Waterproof Kindle Paperwhites enable us to read worry-free while lounging in the pool. Alexa answers all the silly little questions we have while we're cooking or driving and our hands are busy. And the Fire TV seems to know how to recommend the perfect show at the perfect time.
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Amazon has developed an uncanny knack for delivering conveniences we didn't know we needed. Some customers are concerned, however, that the tech giant may have gone too far with its recent rollout of Just Walk Out, a service intended for frictionless in-person shopping.
At participating stores -- often Amazon's, like Amazon Go or Amazon Fresh but increasingly at third-party shops -- Just Walk Out tech enables customers to pick up what they need and simply leave when they're done.
There's no need to wait in a queue, fight with a self-checkout sensor, make pleasantries about the weather with a cashier, or hold up a line because you forgot to get a loaf of bread but half your items have already been loaded on the belt.
Like the output of any good tech giant, Amazon's Just Walk Out is made possible by leveraging a lot of data and artificial intelligence.
All that's required of a customer is a simple scan of their phone when they enter and again when they exit. Behind the scenes, a lot's going on to make this streamlined process possible.
Each store uses myriad sensors and cameras to identify each customer, what they're taking off shelves, and what they walk out with. It's a data gold mine, and plenty of folks claim it's convenient. Still others complain that it makes going to the grocery store unnecessarily invasive.
MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images/Getty Images
The process is relatively controlled in Amazon's stores, so new third-party shopping centers are trying their hands with the nifty new technology. One of those third parties happens to be a liquor store in Seattle.
Downtown Spirits recently opened a 4,200-square-foot facility in the Pacific Northwest city -- also home to Amazon's beginnings -- and began leveraging the tech in mid-August.
The feedback has been mixed. One customer, upon hearing how the new technology worked, walked out, according to GeekWire. Others ranged from mildly curious to unconcerned so long as the new system didn't affect their booze run.
We checked out the new Downtown Spirits in downtown Seattle. It's the first liquor store to use Amazon's cashierless "Just Walk Out" technology. pic.twitter.com/aC8u8Sb6bU
— Taylor Soper (@Taylor_Soper) August 21, 2023
And while the new checkout process doesn't seem to set customer pulses racing, it is having a big impact on staff. Downtown Spirits says that when it was using the traditional checkout process, shoplifting had been a growing issue. Fewer cameras and sensors paired with a staff spread too thin serving other customers made the store an easy target for theft.
“The old store was a traditional brick-and-mortar store — anyone could walk in, shoplifting occurred,” the owner, Marques Warren, said. “Because we no longer have to look over shelves and keep a strict watch on everyone shopping throughout the store, we’re able to build shelves higher and closer together. We are able to squeeze more into smaller space.”
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