Back in 2016 Amazon debuted "Amazon Go," a futuristic challenge to traditional brick-and-mortar retail featuring no cash registers and associated queues. Now the technology is available for licensing, and the online giant has already signed deals with "several" retailers.
Dubbed Just Walk Out, the service brings all the capabilities of the checkout-free Amazon Go retail chain to any retailer-- for a price, of course. As the company tells Reuters, the technology has "broad applicability across store sizes, across industries," since it brings convenience to customers hard-pressed for time. Amazon will also install all technology, such as ceiling cameras and shelf weight sensors, in the retail location, and offers a 24-7 support line.
Whereas Amazon Go handles all transactions via Amazon app, Just Walk Out requires shoppers to insert a credit card into a gated turnstile. The turnstiles display a “Just Walk Out technology by Amazon” logo, but can be further branded by the retailer in question. The system otherwise works the same way as it does in Amazon Go stores, with items picked by the customers added to a virtual shopping cart before the retailer bills the credit card once customer leaves the store. As for receipts, Amazon says it will forward them to an email address associated with the credit card in use.
Amazon is coy as to the retails set to use the technology, but one has already come forward-- airport hospitality group OTG is debuting Just Walk Out in CIBO Express Gourmet Markets, with the first being at the Newark Liberty International Airport. Just Walk Out is perhaps best suited for airports, since it allows travelers to quickly enter the store, grab an item or two, and walk out for maximum speed and convenience.
Go Amazon Launches Business Selling Automated Checkout to Retailers (Reuters)
