According to the Seattle Times, after a 14-month wait, Amazon's cashierless store Amazon Go is finally shedding its "beta test" status and opening to the public. Starting at 7 a.m. local time on Monday, the world's first cashierless store, located under Amazon's headquarters in Seattle, will officially open its doors. No cash, no checkout lines—just grab what you want and walk out.
The Seattle store, located near the Amazon sphere, aims to serve "rushed, hungry people," says Gianna Puerini, vice president of Amazon Go. Customers will find grab-and-go food, snacks, drinks, and more (Photo: Bettina Hansen/Seattle Times).
After nearly 14 months of trial operation open only to Amazon employees, the store bearing the Amazon Go logo will make its public debut on Monday. This is one of Amazon's most significant efforts in recent years to reshape the physical shopping experience.
Amazon Go is about to open to the public. That means the e-commerce giant's cashierless convenience store will open its doors to the public on Monday, marking its first public appearance after nearly 14 months of testing.
The store requires shoppers to scan their phones upon entry, then uses cameras and other sensors to track their path through the store. A virtual cart is updated as customers pick items off the shelves. The customer's Amazon account is charged when they leave the store with their selections.
Starting at 7 a.m. Monday, the store will be open to all customers who use the Amazon Go app and are signed into their Amazon accounts.
A young man in a down jacket and beanie walked into Amazon Go, grabbed a six-pack of beer and a souvenir cup, and walked out—the whole trip took 30 seconds.
When asked how it felt, he could only spout adjectives like "incredible," "amazing," "awesome," "dramatic," and "revolutionize."
It was indeed a revolutionary day and a disruptive store.
But soon came the awkward part.
There was no need to queue to check out inside, but to get into Amazon Go, you had to wait in line...
Shortly after opening, they began limiting foot traffic. Some customers who arrived in the morning had to stand outside on the street in temperatures below 10°C, waiting to enter.
Why the queue? Because this 167-square-meter cashierless store can only accommodate up to 97 customers at a time. Once that limit is exceeded, Amazon employees at the entrance have to implement crowd control.
How long was the wait? At first, there were fewer than 10 people in line, but it gradually grew. In the morning, some people went to Amazon Go to "pay homage" and encountered a line. Amazon employees said the wait would be a few minutes, but it ended up taking 15 minutes.
If you think that's long, you haven't seen the lunch rush.
At noon, the line outside Amazon Go looked like this—take a look:
This is the entrance.
This is the middle of the line.
It turns the corner and continues.
The scene rivaled a new iPhone launch, though with fewer Chinese people.
Why are people queuing in the morning and at noon? Because Amazon Go is essentially a "foodie" store, targeting consumers who are "short on time and hungry," offering mainly various foods.
While waiting in line, you can see through the glass the busy figures of the "chefs" inside Amazon Go. Although it's called a cashierless store, there are still plenty of human employees involved in operations.
Those worried about job losses need not be too concerned for now.
When you finally reach the entrance, you can get an orange shopping bag from an Amazon employee, then open your phone, pull up the QR code, and scan it to enter Amazon Go for shopping.
If you bring a friend, they can also enter by scanning your code, but whatever your friend buys will be charged to your account.
Amazon Go is one of Amazon's biggest efforts to transform the physical shopping experience from an online retailer. Although this small convenience store—only 1,800 square feet—has not been open to the public for a long time, its cashierless shopping concept has had a huge impact on the retail industry since December 2016.
This Amazon Go store is located at the intersection of 7th Avenue and Blanchard Street, near the Amazon sphere. (Photo: Bettina Hansen/Seattle Times)
This shopping concept, which Amazon calls "Just Walk Out," has sparked speculation that Amazon could use its high-tech concept as a foundation to expand into convenience stores or other categories of physical retail. However, U.S. grocery store unions have been critical, fearing that automated checkout could reduce demand for the second most common job in America.
Amazon has said its goal is not to make cashiers redundant but to provide real convenience for employees and customers, as customers no longer need to crowd around cashiers to check out.
At the intersection of 7th Avenue and Blanchard Street, reporters toured the famous cashierless store last week, and Amazon employees demonstrated how to use the store and its convenience.
A few employees were restocking shelves, others were on hand to help customers with questions or concerns, and one employee checked customers' IDs at the entrance. In the kitchen at the back of the store, six employees were preparing sandwiches, salads, and other grab-and-go lunches for the front shelves.
Gianna Puerini, Amazon's vice president in charge of the Go project, said in an interview that their goal is to provide convenience while keeping prices in line with other markets.
An employee restocks shelves at the Amazon Go store. (Photo: Bettina Hansen/Seattle Times)
At first glance, prices in the store seem comparable to typical convenience stores. A 12-ounce can of Springdrift soda costs $1.25, a 20-ounce Coffee Bean and Tea tea bag costs $7.75, and a Vietnamese tofu sandwich costs $5.99.
The range of goods spans from small gas station convenience stores to larger stores. Amazon offers four types of coconut water, but no hot food, and most items are fast food, drinks, and groceries.
"Retail stores need to offer customers choice, cheap prices, and convenience," Puerini said. "I think we're providing those three things."
Gianna Puerini, vice president of Amazon Go, demonstrates how customers use their smartphones to scan into the store. It will take time for all stores to offer this technology because Amazon employees need to simulate real-world conditions. (Photo: Bettina Hansen/Seattle Times)
Of course, Amazon Go is not Amazon's only foray into physical retail. Last year, Amazon spent $13.7 billion to acquire Whole Foods, which has more than 460 stores.
Last year, Amazon also opened two pickup points in Seattle as part of a grocery delivery pilot project, though they were recently canceled, but Amazon Fresh, a grocery delivery service, is still operating.
No one thinks Amazon's first Amazon Go project will stop there. "We hope to open more stores," Puerini said, but she did not announce any expansion plans. (Amazon may already have plans; last year it hired experienced property managers.)
Amazon may not intend to put a Go store on every corner. According to insiders familiar with Amazon's early plans, the internal plan believed that for a store to break even, it would need thousands of office workers in the surrounding blocks.
If the audience is office workers, then Amazon Go stores "need to consider what to offer them," Puerini said. "They're after time and satiety."
Most of the technology that makes Amazon Go work is in the shelves.
Many cameras are installed on the ceiling of the Amazon Go store, capturing customers and the store. (Photo: Bettina Hansen/Seattle Times)
Dozens of rectangular black devices, about the size of paperback books, hang from the ceiling, silently watching the store.
These devices use "multiple sensor inputs," Puerini said, similar to systems that help self-driving cars identify people and objects in their field of view. (That is, video cameras that can analyze images combined with laser arrays.)
Making the system work took time.
In December 2016, Amazon announced that the Amazon Go store was open to employees, expecting to open to outsiders in early 2017. But Amazon did not meet that goal. The Wall Street Journal reported that during testing, the system would crash if the store became too crowded.
An engineer familiar with Amazon Go said in an interview that Amazon spent a lot of effort early on to make its computer vision algorithms effectively track customers.
When an item is picked up and then put back on the shelf, it is automatically removed from the shopper's bill. (Photo: Bettina Hansen/Seattle Times)
Behind Amazon's automated customer tracking technology, the engineer said, human staff review footage to ensure the system works correctly—at least initially.
The tech company apparently believes it has solved all the challenges before the cashierless store officially launches. In fact, last November, Bloomberg News reported that three Amazon employees dressed as Pikachu characters tried to trick the store's tracking system, and Amazon's algorithm correctly charged each furry customer.
Puerini did not go into detail about the technical reasons behind the delay and said that the presence of human staff in the purchase confirmation process "will only take a short time."
She said part of the reason Amazon Go did not open quickly was that employee usage was so high that the store's conditions closely simulated real-world environments, so the company did not need to rush it to the public.
So how often does Amazon Go make mistakes now? Puerini did not answer directly, only saying, "The system is very accurate."
"If there's an error," Puerini said, "customers can use the Amazon Go app to scan the incorrectly charged item on their receipt and remove items they were charged for but didn't actually buy."
Many well-intentioned people rushed to Amazon Go today with the important task of testing whether there was any way to "sneak out" items from this cashierless store. Consider them volunteer testers.
Under normal circumstances, it's hard to fool Amazon's system.
First, hundreds of cameras on the ceiling of Amazon Go watch the entire store, capturing your every move. Second, when you pick up something from the shelf, built-in pressure sensors immediately detect it.
For items that are harder to distinguish, such as salads—America's favorite healthy food—Amazon has printed large QR-code-like recognition patterns and numbers on the packaging.
Additionally, if the drink you want to buy is alcohol, there's a dedicated human staff member in the Amazon Go store who checks your ID to ensure you're over 21 before selling it to you.
Believe me, it's hard to "sneak" items out of this cashierless store.
The highest level might be to "let it happen naturally." For example, a woman tweeted that she bought a lot of things at Amazon Go, but one yogurt was not charged by Amazon's system!
A system error is like a small perk.
Whether successful or not, thanks to all the volunteer testers.
Amazon probably won't chase after the debt. Actually, there's an even "simpler" way: if you buy something, you can request a return in the app in minutes, and the money is quickly refunded to you. And the items you've already bought just need to be handed back to any staff member in the store. Of course, not returning them probably isn't a big deal either...
That's very Amazon. Many American friends say that if you don't receive a package or it's stolen, it's easy to get a full refund from Amazon.
Give that a thumbs up.
When you're done shopping or testing, you can stroll out of Amazon. Don't hesitate, don't look back. Keep walking until you're on the street and back in your car.
Along the way, you don't need to pay much attention to protesters on the roadside.
During this process, Amazon Go automatically completes the transaction and sends the bill to your phone within 15 minutes.
It's that simple.
YouTube user Giz filmed his and his friend's entire shopping trip to Amazon Go, and Quantum Bit captured the main segments. Here's the video, so you can get a pedestrian's perspective on Amazon Go.
In recent years, artificial intelligence with the name "Go" has brought surprises and shocks.
For example, AlphaGo, and now Amazon Go.
Although Amazon Go is currently just a small convenience store, it is undoubtedly Amazon's pioneer charging into the future. Remember, Amazon also bought Whole Foods Market last year.
Next time you're in Seattle, be sure to stop by this store.
Or view it from a distance on Google Street View...
Source: Machine Intelligence, Quantum Bit
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