In the heart of bustling Seattle, Washington, a new type of store has emerged that offers a fast and easy shopping experience. Amazon Go, which first opened in December 2016 as a beta version for Amazon employees and then became available to the public on January 22, 2018, is a new idea from the e-commerce giant, Amazon. Amazon Go is a store that combines physical and online sales. It is cashier-less, but it uses advanced technology to instantly track and appraise your cart.
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Unfortunately, there are currently no Amazon Go stores in Kuwait. However, Amazon's ongoing growth and expansion suggest that we may see similar creative stores in additional places, including Kuwait, in the future.
The first step is to Download the App
To start, download the Amazon Go app for free and create an Amazon account. Then, when entering the store, simply scan the QR code at each gate to connect to your Amazon account. It's that simple; you are ready to shop in Amazon Go stores.
The Mechanism of Amazon Go Stores
These shops have well-organized items, with a focus on fresh and easy-to-carry items. There is a wide range of goods available, such as sweets, meals, snacks, raw materials, and other things that every person needs. The slogan for Amazon Go is "freshness of the products," and many of them are made by Amazon's chefs right there at the store. Also, a lot of the items found in these shops are from well-known, trustworthy brands. The shop also has microwaves so you can heat up food and eat it there.
There are many carefully placed cameras and sensors all over the store that catch your eye as you walk down the aisles. These sensors and the QR code readers are what make Amazon Go's store technology work. The company calls this convenient way to shop "Just Walk Out."
Automatic Registration
The most remarkable thing is that as you pick up items, the system automatically registers the product, and if you change your mind and put it back, the system detects it and removes it from your shopping cart. Even if some customers intend to consume food inside the store before leaving, it's not a problem, and Amazon's intelligent and powerful system covers all these scenarios. These capabilities are created using the latest technologies used in the automotive industry, especially in smart cars, such as various cameras, RFID technology, various sensors, a combination of computer vision, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Additionally, cameras and sensors recognize the customer's face, height, weight, and even clothing to identify them and transfer the picked item to their shopping cart.
Quick Payment
The payment process is also very easy. After completing the purchase, just a few seconds after leaving the store, you will receive a notification containing the purchase invoice on your phone. This invoice even tells you how long the shopping took. In this way, the whole shopping process can be done without having to wait or do anything extra or contact anyone as a seller.
It is worth mentioning that there is a possibility of errors in this system, as moving products to check and return them to the shelf or placing them in the shopping cart may confuse the sensors and cause errors. Therefore, if you notice any mistakes in your purchase and invoice, you can easily contact the support team or report the issue through the app to have it quickly resolved.
Amazon Go Employees
Using numerous cameras and sensors in these stores ensures the security of shopping. Additionally, the lack of a need for a seller reduces costs, and employees hired are only there to guide customers and stock and refill shelves and inventory.
However, restocking these shelves is not easy and differs from similar tasks in regular stores. This is because a type of sensor in the store is used to detect weight, so employees must carefully and meticulously place items like fruits with specific weights in the shelves and baskets. This is so that when a product (e.g., an apple) is picked, a certain weight is subtracted from the total basket, and the system can determine that the customer has picked an apple.
A common question is, although some products can be produced and packaged with precise weights, What can be done about fruits that don't grow evenly in nature?
The answer given by one of the employees of these stores was quite surprising. First, he said that when Amazon Go stores buy in bulk, they try to get items of the same size. Then, if a visible weight difference is seen during stocking, the fruit is either thrown away or given to charity.
Although these stores may not entirely replace current grocery stores in the near future, Amazon Go has the potential to revolutionize the way we shop for daily essentials, making it a suitable option for busy individuals who need easy shopping.
The Future of Cashier-less Stores
With the continued advancement of technology, we can expect to see more cashier-less stores like Amazon Go in the coming years. These stores are a prototype of the future of e-commerce. In these stores, convenience, efficiency, speed, and customer experience are highly valued. Another goal is to expand these types of stores worldwide, as similar Amazon Go stores exist in countries like Sweden, Finland, China, UAE, and South Korea.
It is also said that the company plans to open drive-thru stores in its future progression. This means customers can enter the store with their car, pick up the desired items, and leave without any delay.
We are a Kuwaiti software company that specializes in creating mobile applications and websites. If you need help with your project, please don't hesitate to contact us. Our team of experienced developers is ready to help bring your ideas to life and create innovative solutions for your business needs.