Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh: How the ‘Just walk out’ tech works
- No need to wait in line or even check out !
- The first store outside of the US with ‘Just Walk Out’ tech !
Amazon has been opening physical Amazon Go convenience stores and Amazon Go Grocery stores across the US and it has now launched a UK store branded Amazon Fresh.
All have one thing in common — unlike most shops, there are no registers or cashiers. You walk in, pick out what you want, and walk out. Amazon calls it a ‘just walk out’ shopping experience.
What is a ‘just walk out’ store?
Amazon described the original Amazon Go store as “a new kind of store with no checkout required”. The first Amazon Go in Seattle was basically a small convenience store with roughly 1,800 square feet of retail space and it’s this small format that is replicated elsewhere.
When you shop at one of these stores, you never have to wait in line. The store works with an Amazon Go app for iOS or Android: You enter, take the products you want and, thanks to the app, just leave again. The app is linked to your Amazon account for billing.
There are two types of Amazon Go stores in the US:
- Amazon Go: Serves breakfast, lunch, and all sorts of snacks that are ready
- Amazon Go Grocery: Produce, ready-made dinners, and household essentials
And now there’s a similar store in London, but it’s called Amazon Fresh.
These stores work by using the same types of technologies found in self-driving cars, such as computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning.
This technology can detect when products are taken or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in your virtual cart. When you leave the store with your goods, your Amazon account is charged and you are sent a receipt.
- You can visit it in downtown Seattle
This Amazon Fresh store is also selling own-brand goods called (somewhat unoriginally) ‘by Amazon’. Amazon works with Morrisons for its Amazon Fresh delivery goods and we reckon its likely the goods under this brand also originate from Morrisons.
This brand includes meat, poultry and fish items as well as dairy, fruit and veg, bakery, freshly prepared meals and everyday essentials. Coincidentally, this store will also sell household goods, magazines, flowers, Amazon devices and more.
So yes, you’ll be able to pop an Echo Dot in your basket alongside a loaf of bread.
How does it work?
To get started, you need an Amazon account, a supported smartphone, and the free app. You scan the app as you enter the store to get through a turnstile. You then put away your phone and began shopping — picking up items, putting them in a basket or in bags (without needing to scan each item). You can just walk out when you’re finished.
You don’t need to check out and you can replace items at any time.
The app has a navigation bar at the bottom with tabs for four screens: Key, Receipts, About, and More. The Key screen seems to bring up the QR code that the store’s turnstiles scan to let you in, while the Receipt screen shows what you bought after you’ve left.
‘Just Walk Out’ tech
Amazon is using a combination of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and data pulled from multiple sensors to ensure customers are only charged for the stuff they pick up. Cameras are used to track items as they’re taken from shelves.
A patent application filed by Amazon in early 2015 first revealed details about the technology. The patent described a store that would work using a system of cameras, sensors, and/or RFID readers to identify shoppers and their items.
There is also a mention of “facial recognition” and user information, which may include images of the user, details about the user like height and weight, user biometrics, a username and password, even user purchase history.
We’re not entirely sure if this patent application precisely describes the final iteration of Just Walk Out technology. However, it is a camera-tracking system and it must also use some kind of AI to track you through the store.
