Amazon Tests Its Cashierless Technology for Bigger Stores (wsj.com) 25
Online giant tries to overcome challenges caused by retail spaces with higher ceilings, more products. From a report: Amazon.com is testing its cashierless checkout technology for bigger stores [alternative source] , according to people familiar with the matter. If successful, the strategy would further challenge brick-and-mortar retailers racing to make their businesses more convenient. The online retail giant is experimenting with the technology in Seattle in a larger space formatted like a big store, the people said. The systems track what shoppers pick from shelves and charges them automatically when they leave a store.
Although the technology functions well in its current small-store format, it is harder to use it in bigger spaces with higher ceilings and more products, one of the people said, meaning it could take time to roll out the systems at more larger stores. It is unclear whether Amazon intends to use the technology for Whole Foods, although that is the most likely application if executives can make it work, according to the people. Amazon has previously said it has no plans to add the technology to Whole Foods.
Although the technology functions well in its current small-store format, it is harder to use it in bigger spaces with higher ceilings and more products, one of the people said, meaning it could take time to roll out the systems at more larger stores. It is unclear whether Amazon intends to use the technology for Whole Foods, although that is the most likely application if executives can make it work, according to the people. Amazon has previously said it has no plans to add the technology to Whole Foods.
Re:May their isles all be shat upon (Score:4, Informative)
Stores have aisles
Seas have isles
all we need now is a shopping bot (Score:3)
Why have *people* involved, anywhere?
We don't need "Merchants" any more than "Shoppers"
"We" don't want people involved if we want ultimate in *efficiency* !!!
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Why have *people* involved, anywhere?
We don't need "Merchants" any more than "Shoppers"
That is their plan. They will have small local distribution centers with picking robots. You order the groceries on-line, and your order is delivered to your home by a self-driving-car 30 minutes later.
There is nothing new about eliminating shoppers. Before 1880, there were no "shoppers". You went into the store, handed your list to the clerk, and then the clerk went into the storeroom and picked your order, wrapped it up, and processed the payment. Allowing the customer to actually see or touch the me
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Re:all we need now is a shopping bot (Score:4, Informative)
That's not really the case -- there were markets where food/food ingredients were accessible to customers.
Indeed. And the clerk would bring items you were considering to buy / suggested products to the front desk for you to inspect too, customers weren't that in the dark. But it wasn't anything like today with shopping and check-out, even at the market you'd talk to the guy/gal behind the stand and tell what you want and they'd take payment then hand it over. The idea that we'd browse the shelves and pick goods ourselves is actually fairly new. Heck, here in Norway it's only 19 years ago since we allowed that for wine and liquor. When I started drinking you had to check the catalog, go to the counter and tell the clerk what you wanted and they'd bring it to the front desk, it sounds like something from 1899 instead of 1999 but that's how it was.
I don't think I'd really miss it if you could do it asynchronously though, if I could just shop electronically and have the bags ready to go or delivered at the door it's fine. What made it antiquated at the store was that you'd say what you want then stand/sit around waiting for them to get back to you. It wasted your time while you were paying for somebody else's time to walk around and find it. Granted, they knew where pretty much everything was so it was fairly efficient, but really I don't spend much more time shopping at the grocery store than I'd do picking the items online.
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However, sales boomed when they allowed customers to shop and browse, creating impulse buys as well as the scenarios like, "Oh right, I didn't think about that, I might need this new widget A to go with the gadget C I'm buying today".
Larger carts increased sales numbers even more.
Removing the ability to shop and browse would hurt retail sales, and thus, the overall economy: people buy less, so people stock less, so people manufacture less, so less people are needed, so less jobs.
OTOH, people might consume
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That is their plan. They will have small local distribution centers with picking robots. You order the groceries on-line, and your order is delivered to your home by a self-driving-car 30 minutes later.
Walmart is already halfway there. At our local Wally World, we order all the stuff online, tell them when we want to pick it up, and get a notification when it's ready. You still have to drive to the store, but you pull around to the side, confirm payment, and the workers bring your stuff out to you, alrea
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The movie Surrogates is just this.
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Think of the conjunction with Social Credit! (Score:3)
I wonder if in the future, you'll gain social credit if you show loyalty to multiple brands for an extended period of time...
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The problem with your idea is the horse is way out of the gate. China is already full-bore implementing social credit, and though the U.S. is more patchwork about it a similar system, not really codified but arising naturally out of system interconnection, is underway.
If you can't stop something the next best thing is to figure out where it might go and how to live within it.
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Social credit? Hmmm....in the future, the major credit score mafia will keep social credit scores as well as money credit scores. There'll be several categories: Mindless Single Source Buying, Obsequious Flattery, Abnormal Social Attitudes, and Inappropriate Suggestions Towards the Emotionally Unstable. Entry to restaurants will be accepted as long as certain Social Credit minimum levels are met. Scores can be locked but you may experience decreased functioning or access to social gathering places. Social c
Obsequious Flattery, (Score:2)
At first I read that as "Obsequious Flatulence", and I thought - you know, China probably does have sensors monitoring even that now.