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Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has opened a new supermarket where shoppers can leave without going through a checkout, revolutionising the way we shop.
Located in Seattle, the store uses ceiling-mounted cameras and electronic sensors to keep tabs on shoppers and detect what they have picked up and put back on the shelf.
To begin shopping, people must scan their Amazon Go app to enter the store through turnstiles. Customers are then billed after by leaving credit card details on file.
The new Amazon Go supermarket opened to Amazon employees in December 2016 but is now open to the public.
The retail giant has not confirmed if or when it will open more check-out free stores, and has said that does not plan to add the technology to Whole Foods stores, which it purchased last year for $13.7 billion (£9.9 billion).
Gianna Puerini, vice-president of Amazon Go, said the technology worked very well during the test period.
“This technology didn’t exist,” she said. “It was really advancing the state of the art of computer vision and machine learning.”
Shelves in the store have weight sensors to help indicate if an item has been taken or put back. Some store items carry a visual dot code, so cameras are more able to identify them.
Initial problems with the supermarket include identifying shoppers who have similar body types. Further problems were introduced during testing when children were brought into stores, who moved items and did not put them back in correct spaces.
Seattle’s supermarket is not Amazon’s first physical retail space. The retail giant opened a physical bookshop in 2015. There are now 13 in the US.
Brian Olsavsky, the group’s chief financial officer, has hinted towards Amazon’s expansion in physical retail.
“You will see more expansion from us – it’s still early, so those plans will develop over time,” he said last year.