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Amazon is calling time on the “Just Walk Out” technology in its Fresh supermarket stores in the US. The system allows customers to scan their phones on entry, do their shop and leave without going through a traditional checkout. The purchases are then billed to their Amazon accounts. It was launched in 2016, and other supermarkets followed suit with similar checkout-free stores. But human reviewers have to watch shoppers through security cameras in case systems fail (and to make annotations for AI models). Amazon expected these workers, many of whom are based in India, would be required for only 2 per cent of sales but it turned out they were needed far more often. These additional checks led to delays for consumers, who have not embraced Amazon Fresh in overwhelming numbers.
The chances of “Just Walk Out” being introduced in Whole Foods stores (which Amazon owns) now look slim during what is proving a rocky time for the supermarket industry. Brick and mortar costs have ballooned, inflation has squeezed profits, and many have sought to blame a rise in shoplifting and robbery.
According to the FT however, it was the supermarket chains’ favouring of AI usage and automation over traditional human staffing that saw steep post-pandemic surges in “shrink” (stock lost to breakages, expiration, theft etc). Noting that human staff in stores seem to suppress shoplifting more effectively, they are now looking to reinvest in greeters, till-staff and security guards.
Weight-based smart trolley technologies – not dissimilar to scan-and-shop systems already in place at retailers across the globe – will be rolled out at Amazon Fresh locations in the US.
“Just Walk Out” will stride on in some form and will remain in place at Fresh locations in the UK. Is technology succeeding there? Three Fresh stores shut last year, and there are no public plans to open more.