Amazon is now branching all the way to the opposite coast by way of expanding a rollout of its checkout-free Amazon Go physical store concept.
The e-commerce giant is planning to open a store in New York City, joining Amazon Go’s that are likewise planned for San Francisco and Chicago. Those would be in addition to three existing stores already up and running in Amazon’s hometown of Seattle.
Amazon confirmed the news after also posting on Thursday night several job listings for a New York-area Go store that were spotted by The Information. The listings were for positions including store manager, assistant store manager, something called a “learning and development manager” and a training lead associate.
Amazon opened the doors to its first Go store in Seattle earlier this year. From The Information, that original store “attracted wide fascination by using a combination of cameras, artificial intelligence and other sensors to allow shoppers to grab items off shelves and immediately exit the store without having to wait in checkout lines. While the experience of shopping in the store can feel a bit like shoplifting, customers are automatically charged for the items they take with them.”
The fact that Amazon has its on eye on New York, its biggest retail market following high-profile entries into California and Chicago, means the company has enough confidence it will attract significant attention and its systems will hold up under the expected rush of NYC shopping crowds. The Information’s report goes on to offer the reminder that the technology behind the concept could eventually completely transform the physical retail experience, “with the potential to eliminate millions of cashier jobs.”
It’s important to stress “the technology behind the concept,” because it’s bigger than just Amazon. Walmart is also reportedly working on its own cashier-free checkout experience, and other retailers like Kroger are likewise experimenting with different kinds of scan-and-go technology.
Amazon, as a reminder, also now owns Whole Foods and said it won’t bring the Go technology there. Though The Information reports retail executives expect it to do just that, in some form or another, eventually.
