Unless you are living under a rock, you have probably heard of AmazonGo. At the time of writing this article, there were 10M+ views of the video Amazon made to show the world how it’s done. There have been millions of shares on Facebook and Linkedin, and the retweets ensured almost half the world has already seen the ‘future of retail’. For the benefit of the ‘living under the rock’ cohort, here’s how it works:
- All you need to get started is an Amazon account, the free Amazon Go app, and a recent-generation iPhone or Android phone. Once you have the AmazonGo app, scan to enter the store and the store recognizes who you are.
- Once inside, there will be no store assistants apart from the people baking and making fresh food on counters.
- WiFi or Bluetooth LE connections will ensure customer recognition at every aisle.
- Proximity sensors and cameras recognize that you have picked up a specific item from the shelf and it is credited to card/cash in your AmazonGo app.
- If you put the product back, the item’s cost is deleted from the AmazonGo app and money is debited
- You only need to bag the items and exit the store. No checkout lines. Your Amazon account automatically gets charged for what you take out the door.