On Monday, residents of Seattle will have the chance to shop at Amazon Go, the online retail giant's brick-and-mortar grocery store, becoming the first people outside Amazon to try out the cashier-free shopping. Amazon employees started using the convenience store in December 2016, and mastering the technology of using cameras and sensors to charge people the correct amount for their purchase proved harder than expected. Issues included differentiating shoppers with similar body types and dealing with children eating items in-store or rearranging them on shelves, Reuters reports.
Shoppers pass through a turnstile to get into the store, scanning a smartphone app that links them to a credit card on file. Cameras and weight sensors on shelves determine what customers buy, and they are charged for whatever they still have with them when they walk out through the turnstiles again. Reuters correspondent Jeffrey Dastin tried out the store, and he got in an out with a bottle of water in under 30 seconds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Criminal trail?'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
Grindr 'shared user HIV status' with ad firms, lawsuit claimsSpeed Read LGBTQ dating app accused of breaching UK data protection laws in case filed at London's High Court
-
The best dog-friendly hotels around the UKThe Week Recommends Take a break with your four-legged friend in accommodation that offers you both a warm welcome
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe feesSpeed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billionSpeed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
