All About Amazon Go

All About Amazon Go

• Amazon Go is a brick-and-mortar grocery store
• The Seattle-based store will open to to the public in 2017
• The store features 'Just Walk Out' tech and works with an app
• You can just walk in to Amazon Go, grab items, and leave
• There's no need to wait in line or even check-out at a register

Tech companies are constantly exploring new ways to sell us their goods, and Amazon's latest example has plenty of people scratching their heads.

The online retailer has announced it is opening a brick-and-mortar physical store in Seattle, Washington, so that you can start buying your goods from Amazon in person rather than through Amazon.com. But the most unique thing about this store, which is called Amazon Go, is that it doesn't have any registers. You simply walk in, pick out what you want, and walk out. Amazon is calling this a "Just Walk Out" shopping experience.
Here's everything you need to know about Amazon Go.

What is Amazon Go?

Amazon has described Amazon Go as "a new kind of store with no checkout required". That means, when you shop at Amazon Go, you'll never have to wait in line. The store works with the new Amazon Go app. With that app, you can enter Amazon Go, take the products you want, and go. The first Amazon Go store is basically a grocery store with roughly 1,800 square feet of retail space.
Amazon said it began working on the store concept four years ago, with the idea that it wanted to "push the boundaries of computer vision and machine learning to create a store where customers could simply take what they want and go". Amazon Go therefore uses the same types of technologies found in self-driving cars, such as computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning.

This technology can detect when products are taken or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in your virtual cart. When you leave the store with your goods, Amazon will charge your Amazon account (presumably the default payment option tied to the account), and send you a receipt.

What can you buy at Amazon Go?

Here's what Amazon is selling in its first Amazon Go store:

"We offer delicious ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options made fresh every day by our on-site chefs and favorite local kitchens and bakeries. Our selection of grocery essentials ranges from staples like bread and milk to artisan cheeses and locally made chocolates. You’ll find well-known brands we love, plus special finds we’re excited to introduce to customers. For a quick home-cooked dinner, pick up one of our chef-designed Amazon Meal Kits, with all the ingredients you need to make a meal for two in about 30 minutes."

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