There is a possibility that Amazon could introduce cashier-less checkout technology soon in the areas of Fresh grocery stores. The main features of Amazon’s automated checkout technology which can be called by the name “Just Walkout” seem to included in planning documents for a store under construction in a suburban shopping plaza in Brookfield, Connecticut. The technology will enable the customers to skip the hassle of getting into the checkout line and they can track any item as they grab them. Subsequently, the price for those items gets charged when they leave.
Those documents of the first Amazon tech-store show gated entry and exit lanes at the front of the store, where shoppers would apparently scan an app or credit card as they come in, as well as hardware to potentially house ceiling-mounted cameras that track which items shoppers pick up in the store. The documents also mention the use of an electronic shelving system, a feature Amazon has deployed in its Fresh and cashier-less Go convenience stores.
Moreover, there seems to be a large staging area at the front of the proposed store layout. Fresh stores have a section where customers can pick up amazon.com or grocery orders placed online or return their packages for free.
However, it is not evident whether the store will integrate any other high-tech elements which are usually featured in Fresh stores such as the one recently launched Dash Carts, comprising smart shopping letting shoppers check out without having to wait in queues.
It was the month of September when Amazon opened its first Fresh grocery store in Los Angeles’ Woodland Hills neighborhood. It has since opened a dozen stores, located in southern California and in several suburbs of Chicago. The company also plans to open a handful of stores on the East Coast.
It would be marked as a triumph industry feat if Amazon ends up launching cashier-less checkout technology in Fresh stores. Amazon Fresh stores are roughly 35,000 square feet, or about the size of a store in Amazon’s other grocery chain, Whole Foods. The format incorporates a blend of in-store and online shopping while offering consumers a variety of products at lower price points than the largely upscale options offered at Whole Foods.