By Karen Phan, Staff Writer
Technology evolved from being a novelty to a necessity in our everyday world. We find ourselves being more dependent on technology; the same idea applies to retail. Retailers need to be more tech savvy to stay in business.
On Jan. 22, Amazon opened their new grocery store Amazon Go in Seattle, Washington. The convenience store is like any other grocery store, but without cashiers. Customers download the Amazon Go app on their phone, link it to a payment method and scan their phone as they walk through the doors. From there, they can grab whatever they need off the shelves and leave. Sensors and cameras detect action and either add or remove items from the shoppers’ digital basket. When the customers leave, their credit cards are billed.
The technology behind Amazon Go is called Just Walk Out. The company has been working on the technology for five years, and has been testing out Amazon Go for a year with its employees.
“This technology didn’t exist. It was really advancing the state of the art of computer vision and machine learning,” said Amazon Go Vice President Gianna Puerini.
As of now critics are unsure of whether or not Amazon Go will succeed in the long run, but the foundation has been laid: incorporating advanced technology into shopping is a game changer. In the recent years, an overwhelming amount of retail stores shut down due to competition with their online counterparts.
“These stores are trying to reinvent themselves to meet this new consumer economy we are in. People don’t want to go just buy something at the store,” says Enrique Lopez-Lira, a professor of economics and finance at Grand Canyon University.
What Lopez-Lira says is true. For many of us, it is considered “normal” to physically go to a store and hand-pick items. Nowadays, online shopping is thriving as it is more convenient. In a technologically advanced world, a new one-of-a-kind technology in stores could be the answer to the retail store crisis.
Amazon Go was reported to have long lines going into the store the day it opened. People were willing to wait in lines to enter a convenience store. Amazon’s introduction of technology into a grocery store was foreign to the residents of Seattle. It was a new type of shopping that they had never experienced before, and it was successful.
Amazon’s grocery store may be a look into the future of retail. If they don’t follow Amazons footsteps, retail stores could fade away as a small online presence.
