Amazon Just Walk Out technology headed to Fresh supermarkets

Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology could be about to launch at its Fresh grocery stores in the US.

Features of the automated checkout offering, which was pioneered at Amazon Go, appear in planning documents for a store under construction in a suburban shopping plaza in Brookfield, Connecticut, Bloomberg reports.

“The plans identify a dozen entry and exit gates as well as ceiling mounted racks to run wiring to camera arrays, a setup that until now has only appeared in Amazon Go convenience stores,” it states.

Amazon declined to comment.

Such a move would be significant. Startups such as Standard Cognition and AiFi have developed autonomous systems for retailers, but widespread adoption has been slow with deployment in large store formats proving to be challenging and costly.

Amazon One

Earlier this week, we reported that Amazon was rolling out biometric technology at its Whole Foods Market stores around Seattle.

Its Amazon One system lets customers associate a credit card with their palm print and then pay by holding their hand over a kiosk.

The tech has gone live at a store near Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle and is set to expand to seven more stores in the metro area.

Amazon One is distinct from the aforementioned Just Walk Out technology, which has been deployed at three recently launched Amazon Fresh convenience locations in London.

At these stores, shoppers use the Amazon app to enter (no Prime membership required) and buy items, bagging them as they go.

At the end, they don’t need to stand in queue or check out. They are automatically billed as they leave.

The stores offer the private food brand, ‘by Amazon’, Customers will also find a range of hot food throughout the day and on-the-go meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Amazon is planning further openings in the greater London area, although it has not revealed exact numbers or locations.