SEATTLE — Amazon has launched a website, justwalkout.com, to sell the automated checkout technology it uses in its cashierless Amazon Go stores to retailers. Amazon said it already has signed “several” deals with customers it would not name, according to a Reuters report.
“Since launching Amazon Go years ago, many retailers have expressed an interest in offering similar checkout-free shopping experiences to their customers,” Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. said on the website.
“Just Walk Out technology enables shoppers to simply enter a store, grab what they want and just go,” it said. “Born from years of experience at Amazon Go, Just Walk Out uses a combination of technologies to eliminate checkout lines. We now offer retailers the ability to leverage this technology in their stores to help bring fast and convenient checkout experiences to more shoppers.”
The stores would not be Amazon Go stores. They would be branded by the retailer that purchases the technology. They would also use their own employees and handle all customer service needs themselves. Retailers still need to employ store associates to greet and answer shoppers' questions, stock the shelves, check IDs for the purchasing of certain goods and more.
Amazon explained how the “effortless experience” works:
“Shoppers enter the store using a credit card. They don't need to download an app or create an Amazon account. Our Just Walk Out technology detects what products shoppers take from or return to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart. When done shopping, they can just walk out and their credit card will be charged for the items in their virtual cart. If shoppers need a receipt, they can visit a kiosk in the store and enter their email address. A receipt will be emailed to them for this trip. If they use the same credit card to enter this or any other Just Walk Out-enabled store in the future, a receipt will be emailed to them automatically.”
For existing stores, Amazon said the installation of the technology, including ceiling cameras and shelf sensors, can take “as little as a few weeks” with minimal interruption of business. For new stores, Amazon works on construction plans with the retailer. Amazon collects only the customer data needed to provide shoppers with an accurate receipt. “Shoppers can think of this as similar to typical security camera footage,” the company said.
Amazon will offer retailers a 24/7 support line for the technology.
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