Yesterday, I saw a notification on my Apple Watch alerting me that starting at 4pm, I could get a discount on sandwiches, wraps, and sushi at the Amazon Go store. That notification wasn't very helpful to me considering that I'm in New Orleans and the closest Amazon Go store is in Chicago, almost 1,000 miles away. Nevertheless, it did remind me that I had checked out this interesting store when I was in Chicago for ABA TECHSHOW last month. It is a fascinating concept for a store: grab what you want and then just walk right out; the store knows you are because of your smartphone and just sends you your receipt.
There are currently Amazon Go stores located in Seattle, Chicago, and San Francisco. The store I visited is located at 111 E Wacker Drive, and it had opened just a few weeks before I visited.
Before you enter the store, you need to download the Amazon Go app. There is a QR code on that app (which I smudged out in this picture) that you use to enter the store.
After you enter the store, just look at the shelves and pick up what you want. As you do so, the store senses that you have taken the item and adds it to your virtual cart. (I wasn't able to figure out how to see a list of the items in my virtual cart while in the store.)
After you have picked up whatever you want, you just walk out of the store. There are no cashiers, and perhaps more importantly, no line.
I have to admit, it sort of felt like I was stealing items to just walk out of the store without talking to anyone. But helpful signs reminded me as I left that I had done the right thing.
The fact that there are no cashiers doesn't mean that there are no employees. To the contrary, it seemed like I saw more Amazon employees in that store than I would see in a typical convenience store of the same size. But some of the employees told me that there were more employees than normal just because the store was so new.
I expected the app to tell me right after I left the store that it knew that I purchased something. Instead, I had to wait several minutes before the app told me about my purchase. But it was correct. I picked up a large, fancy Rice Krispie treat, and the app knew about it.
Later on, I received an email confirming that Amazon had charged the credit card I keep on file with Amazon for my purchase.
I see that the app tells me that I was in the store for over four minutes, but most of that time was just me figuring out how it worked and talking to employees. If I had not been a newbie and I knew what I wanted to purchase, I could easily see myself going in the store, getting some items, and leaving in like 20 seconds. Suffice it to say that shopping at Amazon Go can be much faster than a traditional store.
Here is a video from Amazon describing the Amazon Go stores:
I don't know what the future is for the Amazon Go stores, and I'm not expecting one to show up in New Orleans any time soon. But it was a very interesting shopping experience, and I suspect that folks who live or work near one of these stores find them convenient.
