I was somewhat skeptical of Amazon Go---the e-commerce giant's brick-and-mortar convenience store that lets you walk out and pay without interacting with a cashier or register. After all, paying at a cash register isn't that inconvenient. And what if Amazon charges me for something I didn't buy? Plus, as a regular Amazon shopper and Alexa user, do I really want to give more of my money and data to one of the world's most valuable companies?
But after shopping at Amazon's newest Go store in Chicago, I'm sold. Amazon Go is a game-changer in retail and could have major implications for how we shop in the future. And it's one of the best Amazon services I've ever used.
Amazon Go first launched in Seattle in January 2018, and it now has seven Go stores in total---three in Seattle, three in Chicago and one in San Francisco. Its latest Go store opened Tuesday at the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago at 500 W. Madison St.
It's a logical place for an Amazon Go. Thousands of commuters travel through Ogilvie every day, many who are looking for a quick bite or drink before they jump on the Metra or head into work. And time is a factor, especially if you're running to catch a train or late for work because your train was delayed.
The biggest benefit of Amazon Go is speed. I spent 4 minutes and 13 seconds in the store (I know that because of an Amazon push notification I got once I left), but it could have been closer to 30 seconds if I hadn't stopped to chat with store employees and strolled the aisles to get a sense of the store's inventory.
If you've never been to an Amazon Go store, here's how it works:
- Download the Amazon Go App, log into your Amazon account and enter your payment information.
- Swipe through Amazon's brief tutorial on how to shop at an Amazon Go store.
- Scan your phone at a turnstile at the front of the store.
- Put your phone away, grab all the items you need, and simply walk out of the store.
- A few minutes later Amazon will notify you with a receipt in the Amazon Go app detailing all of the items you purchased.
Amazon uses sensors and cameras positioned throughout the store---similar to the tech used in driverless cars---to identify when you pick something off a shelf. It can also tell when you've put an item back, thus not incorrectly charging you for the purchase.
Inside, I grabbed a Starbucks cold brew coffee, a Clif Bar and a tin of Altoids. After I left the store, sure enough Amazon sent me a receipt with each item, totaling $6.29.
It sounds strange to say, but shopping at Amazon Go felt almost fun. It reminded me of the first time I took an Uber---stepping out of a cab without swiping a card or handling cash is a bizarrely satisfying feeling at first. And the same goes for leaving a grocery store. Sure, waiting in a small line at 7-Eleven isn't a huge pain point. But bypassing the checkout counter completely will make you never want to stand in line again.
If you run down all of Amazon's products and services, you'll find a mix of things that are groundbreaking (Amazon Prime), gimmicky (Amazon Dash), a potential privacy concern (Amazon Echo), and a potential super privacy concern (Amazon Echo Show). Amazon Go feels similar to Amazon Prime in that it has the potential to completely change the way we shop for goods.
Amazon's exact plans for its cashier less stores are unclear, but it reportedly wants to open 3,000 by 2021. And it's not a stretch to think Amazon could bring the same technology to its Whole Foods grocery stores in the future.
Amazon isn't the only company working on a cashierless convenience store. Bay Area startup Zippin has also built a similar automated checkout store, as well as startups like AiFi, Aipoly, Standard Cognition and Trigo Vision.
Whether it's Amazon, an upstart, or a different retail brand that adopts the technology, it's clear that checkout lines could one day become a thing of the past.
