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Moving stuff is seamless. You are not charged. Passing items between friends that used the same phone to get in is also seamless (I’ve never tried passing an i

Moving stuff is seamless. You are not charged. Passing items between friends that used the same phone to get in is also seamless (I’ve never tried passing an item between two amazon accounts). I believe there are weight sensors to counteract stuff like taking out half a sandwich and putting the rest back, but I’m not sure about this one. There are definitely ways to cheat the system. But the tech is at a point where it is similar hassle/consequences to other petty shoplifting that happens across the world (the cameras can always be checked by a human in a post-mortem). The reality is convenience store shopping is at a point where it is almost always better for the company and the customer with Amazon Go tech. The bigger problems with the Amazon Go tech is, how do you scale it to a supermarket size, how do you get around or change regulations that a human needs to validate ID for alcohol, how do you auto-stock the place, how do you get away from needing a human for security guard / first aid reasons? Also I imagine it costs a lot to set up. How do you make this cheap enough to be financially worth the ROI?

alexgmcm 7y ago
You can still have a security guard or two - that just means you need two guards instead of two guards and half a dozen cashiers. I agree with you - the stores will save more money by switching to this tech and it will be better for the customers. I really hate having to queue for 10 minutes in a busy supermarket to buy groceries - it's probably the worst UX I experience on a regular basis.
btgeekboy 7y ago
I think having the shop staffed isn’t necessarily a problem or failure. The original Go store in Seattle has alcohol (ID is checked by a person that permits entry into that section) and the store is otherwise staffed for restocking and general customer service. But I walk in, grab what I want for lunch, and walk out. I don’t wait in line behind 5 other people while waiting for the awkward chip card delay or that guy that wants to pay with pocket change that hogs the register. Consequently, I go there far more often than the 7-11 down the street.

alexgmcm 7y ago

You can still have a security guard or two - that just means you need two guards instead of two guards and half a dozen cashiers. I agree with you - the stores will save more money by switching to this tech and it will be better for the customers. I really hate having to queue for 10 minutes in a busy supermarket to buy groceries - it's probably the worst UX I experience on a regular basis.

btgeekboy 7y ago

I think having the shop staffed isn’t necessarily a problem or failure. The original Go store in Seattle has alcohol (ID is checked by a person that permits entry into that section) and the store is otherwise staffed for restocking and general customer service. But I walk in, grab what I want for lunch, and walk out. I don’t wait in line behind 5 other people while waiting for the awkward chip card delay or that guy that wants to pay with pocket change that hogs the register. Consequently, I go there far more often than the 7-11 down the street.