As consumers, how can we be engaged more? How can my shopping experience be made easier? How can my shopping experience be fit around me?
The true future of retail, on the surface, could appear confusing. And questions like the ones above provide a lot of food for thought. Retailers should be thinking about the consumer and their needs on a day-to-day basis. Let’s face it, as shoppers we expect to feel cared for and considered.
With consumers now demanding more, Amazon is trailing new ways to bring their shoppers experience to the forefront…
Launching in four stores in America, Amazon Go is disrupting the current supermarket blue print, by completely changing the way shoppers interact with a store. Gone are the cashiers, gone are the tills, and that also means gone are the days of cash. Despite the initial small presence, Amazon Go has already proven successful, relying heavily on brand image, artificial intelligence and consumers’ connection to technology.
Each store visit starts by downloading the App, and logging in to your Amazon account. As you pass through the turnstiles a scan of your own personal barcode is enough to register your visit, then hundreds of cameras begin to track your every move. The use of cameras in store plays a huge part, monitoring everything you pick up, put back and finally decided to put in your basket.
Along with these sophisticated cameras, to ensure accuracy, Amazon Go stores have weight sensors on each shelf and packaging that has unique patterns for easy camera recognition.
With all this technology on show around store, the final part of the shopping experience couldn’t be any simpler. Once your basket is full, and shopping list complete, you leave. No payment, no long lines – just go.
The information built up throughout your visit is enough for the store to calculate your goods, total them up and deduct the cost of your shop from your account. It’s as easy as that. Only once you’ve left will you be charged, and if the store makes a transaction mistake, it will refund it straight back.
Amazon plan to continue the rollout Go stores over the next few years and an already huge advantage over competitors. The announcement of Walmart’s partnership with Microsoft, leads us to believe that they could be the ones to rival Amazon. But one thing remains the same. Retailers have to adapt, or risk being left behind.
To find out more about Amazon Go stores, check out this link.