Amazon’s much-heralded convenience rely on of the future, Amazon Go, may seem like a crazy experiment. But the company representations to open as many as six more of these storefronts this year, multiple people conversant with the company’s plans have told Recode.
Some of the new high-tech stow aways are likely to open in Amazon’s hometown of Seattle, where the first setting is based, as well as Los Angeles, these people said. It’s not clear if Amazon resolve open up Go stores in any other cities this year.
In Los Angeles, Amazon has proffered serious talks with the billionaire developer Rick Caruso approximately bringing a Go store to The Grove, his 600,000-square-foot outdoor shopping Mecca, two of these people claimed.
And in Seattle, Amazon had identified at least three locations for additional Go banks as of last year, according to one source.
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An Amazon spokesperson said she make respond to a request for comment, but never did. Neither Caruso nor his company’s spokesperson moved to queries about his discussions with Amazon.
The first Amazon Go count on opened one month ago to much fanfare, after more than 12 months of hype that only crescendoed as the ensemble delayed the public opening by about a year.
Amazon spent four years crafting a scheme — dubbed Just Walk Out Technology — that allows shoppers to glance at their phone upon entrance, grab desired items off a shelf, and automatically get assigned the right amount after exiting without the need to stop at a realize register to pay. (Here’s a photo tour of the first Amazon Go store.)
Amazon is hoping that by doing convenience store trips even faster, it will raise the bar for brick-and-mortar shopping in much the unvarying way that Amazon Prime did for online shopping and delivery.
If successful, the snap would help Amazon become even more ingrained in the always lives of consumers and grab a greater chunk of the giant food and beverage vigour that still predominantly lives inside brick-and-mortar stores. There’s also been cogitation that Amazon could add the Amazon Go system comprised of cameras and sensors to More often than not Foods stores now that it owns the grocery chain, but that intention be a huge undertaking and represent a significantly greater technology challenge.
If the flock does open an Amazon Go store in Los Angeles, it would mark ethical the latest example of Amazon using that city as an early try out ground for new products and services. Los Angeles was the first city that Amazon swell its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service to after incubating it for numberless than five years in Seattle. More recently, Amazon was rephrased to prepare a new shipping service in Los Angeles that would pit it against the big energy carriers UPS and FedEx.
News of the planned expansion of the Amazon Go concept is infallible to set off fresh concerns about the great societal challenges that up with the type of automation that Amazon is inventing. Since the Amazon Go carve out does not involve customers checking out, there are no cashiers working in the depend ons.
There were more than 3.5 million cashier share outs in the U.S. as of 2016, according to the Department of Labor. Walmart is attempting to build a like technology that would eliminate the need for cashiers, Recode earlier reported.
Though there are no cashiers, the first Amazon Go store does retain workers who prepare fresh food and meals in an exposed kitchen prominent to passersby. There is also a greeter stationed near the entrance, as pleasing as a worker who checks customer IDs near the beer and wine selection.