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Automated checkout ‘will be everywhere’ sooner rather than later

March 1, 2021Written by Tom Ryan

Photo: Amazon

According to a survey from Piplsay, 89 percent of shoppers who have visited Amazon Go have had either an excellent (54 percent) or a good (35 percent) experience. In other findings from the survey of over 30,000 Americans:

Fifty-nine percent think Amazon Go will be a threat to stores like Walmart and Kroger;
Fifty-four percent believe it will be a success, despite online retail’s entrenchment;
Fifty-seven percent will be excited to see Amazon Go or similar cashierless stores open in their neighborhood.

Of the 18 percent who don’t think such store concepts will succeed, 11 percent reported that “not everyone is tech-savvy” and seven percent think “online is the future.” Amazon.com’s “Just Walk Out” technology leverages ceiling cameras, weight sensors on shelves and artificial intelligence to detect items shoppers pick up and put in their carts. Upon exiting the store, the shopper’s Amazon account is automatically debited. The favorable responses came despite only 28 percent of participants indicating they had visited an Amazon Go. Of the rest, 52 percent had heard of the concept and 20 percent had not. Amazon Go, launched in 2016, still only has 26 locations. Last year, Amazon opened its first two larger Amazon Go Grocery locations using the technology and has scheduled more to come. Competitors have rolled out or expanded their contactless options during the pandemic due to social distancing mandates. Price Chopper and Wegmans accelerated the roll-out of self-checkout apps that enable shoppers to scan, bag and pay from their mobile device. In January, Kroger began testing a smart cart supporting automated checkout, while Amazon last year introduced Dash Carts at Amazon Fresh stores that rely on Just Walk Out technology. Numerous Silicon Valley start-ups, including Caper, Grabango, Standard Cognition Corp, Veeve and Zippin, have been piloting cashierless technologies over the last year. Costs associated with retrofits are believed to be the primary reason for the technology’s slow roll out. Scott Wu, chief technology officer of Compass Digital Labs, which has been piloting cashierless checkouts in the hospitality space, recently told Bloomberg, “When the technology is mature, and the price is at a point where it's scalable, it will be everywhere.”

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