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Amazon Go is not much of a change from an existing store where there are self-serve checkouts in terms of staffing. The huge staff cuts have already happened in

Amazon Go is not much of a change from an existing store where there are self-serve checkouts in terms of staffing. The huge staff cuts have already happened in most supermarkets.

mastax 10y ago
Yeah, Amazon go seems like more of a boon for customers who don't have to check themselves out anymore. Go in to a CVS in the city and there will be one employee at an empty register and four self checkouts with a short line.
notheguyouthink 10y ago
Interesting side note. I overheard staff talking at a local grocery store with a good number of chains. Now, i'm not sure to the extent of this (ie all chains or just those in my state), but they had to actually remove self checkouts. Why? They were being targeted to test stolen credit cards and it was costing the company a pretty penny having to deal with all those fraud checks/etc. Not a detraction from your point - i just found it interesting. "Automation" seemed great there, but they were having difficulty managing how it was being used. I wonder what might happen with the upcoming automation(s) in a similar manner?
- ghaff 10y ago
  Self-checkout also doesn't work terribly well in grocery stores because there's a lot of slow fumbling around things like weighing produce and bagging. I've also seen self-service discontinued in some grocery stores that put it in. I find it somewhat odd that another category of stores that often aren't a great match for self-checkout--big box home improvement stores--seem to have adopted it so broadly, at least around where I live.
  - gozur88 10y ago
    People at my local supermarket told me it doesn't seem to save the company much money, but there are a lot of customers who prefer self-service.
    - ghaff 10y ago
      Self-checkout seems to be one of those things that become popular or not based on fashion rather than necessarily good reason. As I mentioned, at least in the Northeast US, it seems to be particularly popular in big box home improvement stores (Home Depot, Lowes) even though it's problematic for a lot of purchases there. OTOH, I basically never see it in supermarkets here even though it's almost ubiquitous in London markets (albeit smaller stores with less fresh/un-barcoded produce).
morgante 10y ago
I'm curious where you're experiencing so much self-checkout. The vast majority of stores I go to have, at most, a single self-checkout lane. Personally, I think if Amazon Go can follow through on its promise we'll see a drastic reduction in retail employment. The problem with existing self-checkout systems is that they're incredibly clunky and frequently require staff support/intervention. I've literally never had a successful self-checkout where everything worked properly.

Amazon Go is not much of a change from an existing store where there are self-serve checkouts in terms of staffing. The huge staff cuts have already happened in most supermarkets.

mastax 10y ago

Yeah, Amazon go seems like more of a boon for customers who don't have to check themselves out anymore. Go in to a CVS in the city and there will be one employee at an empty register and four self checkouts with a short line.

notheguyouthink 10y ago

Interesting side note. I overheard staff talking at a local grocery store with a good number of chains. Now, i'm not sure to the extent of this (ie all chains or just those in my state), but they had to actually remove self checkouts. Why? They were being targeted to test stolen credit cards and it was costing the company a pretty penny having to deal with all those fraud checks/etc. Not a detraction from your point - i just found it interesting. "Automation" seemed great there, but they were having difficulty managing how it was being used. I wonder what might happen with the upcoming automation(s) in a similar manner?

ghaff 10y ago
Self-checkout also doesn't work terribly well in grocery stores because there's a lot of slow fumbling around things like weighing produce and bagging. I've also seen self-service discontinued in some grocery stores that put it in. I find it somewhat odd that another category of stores that often aren't a great match for self-checkout--big box home improvement stores--seem to have adopted it so broadly, at least around where I live.
- gozur88 10y ago
  People at my local supermarket told me it doesn't seem to save the company much money, but there are a lot of customers who prefer self-service.
  - ghaff 10y ago
    Self-checkout seems to be one of those things that become popular or not based on fashion rather than necessarily good reason. As I mentioned, at least in the Northeast US, it seems to be particularly popular in big box home improvement stores (Home Depot, Lowes) even though it's problematic for a lot of purchases there. OTOH, I basically never see it in supermarkets here even though it's almost ubiquitous in London markets (albeit smaller stores with less fresh/un-barcoded produce).

morgante 10y ago

I'm curious where you're experiencing so much self-checkout. The vast majority of stores I go to have, at most, a single self-checkout lane. Personally, I think if Amazon Go can follow through on its promise we'll see a drastic reduction in retail employment. The problem with existing self-checkout systems is that they're incredibly clunky and frequently require staff support/intervention. I've literally never had a successful self-checkout where everything worked properly.