Amazon will reportedly more than double the number of third-party stores that use its cashier-less technology, known as "Just Walk Out." This technology enables consumers to walk out of a store after scanning an application without having to go to the register and pay. Currently, 140 stores use the technology.
Sources indicate the corporation intends to offer the technology to over 120 third-party businesses by the end of the year. If that target is met, the number of non-Amazon businesses using "Just Walk Out" will have increased by double from the previous year.
(Photo: by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images) People enter an Amazon Fresh store in Washington, DC, on August 26, 2021.
When a customer inserts a credit card or another payment method at a store's entry gate, "Just Walk Out" employs cameras, artificial intelligence, and sensor trackers to determine what is taken off the shelves. This allows shoppers to grab what they want and leave.
In 2020, the firm started supplying the technology to other establishments, like sports stadiums, two years after it was originally implemented at Amazon Go convenience stores.
These outlets, along with a few Amazon Fresh locations in the United Kingdom, will be available for Just Walk Out. But as of this month, Amazon said that "smart carts" will replace the technology in Fresh outlets in the United States.
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Amazon Walks Out
Amazon's "Just Walk Out" expansion comes as the company has reportedly been lessening the use of cashier-less technology in its stores; instead, the company is looking to adopt "smart carts."
Some Amazon Fresh sites have already started offering smart carts, which include screens showing customers the price of their groceries and local bargains.
The carts utilize sensors to recognize objects placed inside. Customers can use its cameras to scan and add up products, bypassing the checkout line.
According to Jenkins, eliminating Just Walk Out from the U.S. Amazon Fresh outlets did not represent an error in the company's miscomputation.
Rather, he explained that the choice resulted from testing many options to determine what works and doesn't for customers.
Amazon may find it difficult to sell Just Walk Out to other companies if it decides to abandon the technology in many of its own locations.
However, some analysts believe the action may also increase acceptance among smaller-format retailers and places resembling Amazon Go stores.
Amazon Fresh
Established in 2007, Amazon Fresh has more than 40 locations nationwide and is considered a major contributor to Amazon's supermarket business venture.
Even though the business also owns Whole Foods, its trials with Amazon Fresh act as a trial run for upcoming changes to the larger grocery chain.
While Amazon is closing most of its Just Walk Out locations, it will keep the technology in place in a few Fresh locations in the UK and a few Amazon Go convenience stores.
Furthermore, a few ballparks around the nation will still use the equipment.
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