Extended queues at the superstore could soon become a distant memory after Amazon online unveiled a grocery store without tills or bar code scanners.
The world wide web retailer has opened a grocery store in which shoppers simply have to scan their smartphone after entry, with purchases automatically charged to a credit card when they leave the store.
The shop has a network of CCTV cameras and pressure sensors to discover when visitors have taken something off the shelves, at which point it is added to their electronic shopping basket. When they exit the store, their purchases are charged straight to the shopper's online Amazon account, without having to wait at the till.
The company said the "Amazon Go" stores had been in development for four years. That has opened the first outlet - an one particular, 800 square foot super market near its Seattle home office.
The shops use machine vision technology to identify what shoppers take certain items. When something is taken off shelves, a pressure sensor is triggered and cameras shopping identify which shopper has considered the product in question.
Unlike the pressure receptors at many hotel minibars, which charge people as soon as they can be induced, consumers can remove an item from their holder and set it back on the shelf without being charged.
To prevent shoplifters, the store has entrance on the front, and shoppers must scan a code with a mobile phone software to gain entrance.
Although best known for online retail, Amazon has opened quite a few of voilier and mortar bookstores in the US in recent years. The "Go" store is currently open only to Amazon employees but actually will open to the public next season.
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