Cashing Out For Customer Convenience

CASHIERLESS TECH IS COMING. HERE’S HOW IT WILL BLOW UP RETAIL.

- Lisa Lacy

The debut of Amazon’s checkout-free convenience store Amazon Go is one of the biggest evolutions in transactional commerce since Ohio saloon keeper James Ritty patented the cash register in 1879. That’s because Amazon’s so-called “just walk out” technology uses computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning that allows shoppers to enter with an app, grab items off the shelves and leave without waiting in line to pay a cashier manning Ritty’s 140-year-old invention.

Microsoft is reportedly developing similar technology that has piqued Walmart’s interest, and Chinese ecommerce firm JD.com has opened 20 of what it says will be hundreds of “unmanned convenience stores” called X-Marts. Meanwhile, reports say Amazon Go is expanding beyond Seattle to San Francisco and Chicago.

This new technology is paving the way for retailers to make shopping easier for consumers and inventory management better for retailers. In a statement, JD.com said cameras can recognize customer movement and generate heat maps so retailers can monitor traffic flow, product selection and customer preferences.