Amazon Go grocery store gets rid of long checkout lines, but might be a job killer - TomoNews

SEATTLE — Amazon is opening a grocery store in downtown Seattle early next year where customers can make their purchases without waiting in checkout lines. The store, called Amazon Go, allows customers to make purchases without the aid of a cashier. Customers would simply need to download the an app onto their phones, open an Amazon account, and visit the Amazon Go store. Amazon’s promotional video shows how customers are admitted into the store after opening their Amazon Go app and scanning it on the turnstiles. The app generates a QR code that logs the customer into the store’s network and connects to the customer’s Amazon account. This prevents shoplifting as the customer’s identity is recognized and stored. The entire store is equipped with computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning technology. It can automatically detect when products are taken from the shelves and records them in virtual shopping carts. The products are removed from the carts if they are placed back onto the shelves. When leaving the store, customers have to pass through turnstiles equipped with sensors that signal the app to calculate the cost of the purchases. The payment is then charged to the customer’s Amazon account. The pictures shown on the Amazon website suggest that some staff might still be responsible for making ready-to-eat meals or other preparations at the store, but the store would probably not include any cashiers or people to bag groceries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 3.4 million Americans are working as cashiers. The New York Post quoted Britt Beam, president of America’s Research Group — a consumer-behavior research firm — saying that Amazon’s technology might wipe out 75 percent of typical grocery-store staff.