The funny thing is, I never got the impression it had less employees than a typical CVS. They were just either in the back keeping the items stocked on the shel

The funny thing is, I never got the impression it had less employees than a typical CVS. They were just either in the back keeping the items stocked on the shelves, helping customers feel comfortable with the the idea they just walk out, or keeping an eye on theft. Actually, I'd be curious to know what the hiring situation looked like. Good employees would only stick around if they felt valued and paid fairly, otherwise they'd turn over. So you'd be left with the worst of the bunch. Since Amazon would have to find ways to keep retention up, they would likely have to pay market rate, or slightly above to attract willing people. That extra cost is definitely passed on to the customer. Disregarding the prices for the sake of argument, I still prefer CVS as it just feels easier to navigate. CVS accumulated a half century of tiny little details that Amazon Go just doesn't have figured out yet.