Level 2.5 autonomy: Amazon Just Walk Out tech isn't dead. It’s just finally acting its age
In September, we reported that Amazon was binning its ambitious Just Walk Out technology powered Amazon Fresh experiment in the UK, just four years after the US online giant launched its first grocery store in London.
It is set to shutter its 19 Fresh stores, with plans to convert five of these into Whole Foods Market locations. The first one opened in the UK during 2021 in Ealing, west London.
This lead many industry observers to argue that Just Walk Out is dead. Not true, according to Michael Guzzetta, Retail Innovation & Strategy Leader at Cookie Plug San Antonio, and a former H-E-B executive.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “It’s just finally acting its age. The newest wave of Amazon retrofits (tiny ceiling cameras, lighter sensors, cheap edge compute) shows a shift from moonshot autonomy to practical autonomy. And honestly, retail’s been waiting for this moment.”
He added: “The first version of JWO was beautiful… but only in the “concept car” sense. Great to look at, impossible to scale across stores with inconsistent lighting, tight ceilings, and a facilities team already stretched thin. Cool, but impractical.”
The new flavour is different, he believes. It’s cheaper. It’s modular. It fits into real stores instead of forcing stores to become labs. And this isn’t just Amazon. You can see it across the field.
AiFi, for instance, uses small ceiling cameras with tiny edge models that don’t need a server room. Install time is measured in hours, not weeks. Trigo, meanwhile, is powering full size autonomous grocery for Rewe and others. Its entire pitch is “retrofit reality,” and it actually works with messy, lived in store conditions.
Zippin runs concession stands in stadiums and airports with compact overhead units that can flip transactions in seconds. And AWM uses event driven video processing (ABI) that only computes when a person or cart is in frame, dramatically cutting cost and infrastructure.
Guzzetta commented: “The pattern is obvious: Nobody is chasing perfect anymore. They’re chasing manageable. That’s the shift retailers needed. Because stores never needed level 5 autonomy. They needed level 2.5… the kind that speeds up the line, lowers the error rate, and makes the associate’s life easier instead of adding another fragile system to babysit.”
“Through the Retail Innovation Triangle lens: Operator Impact: faster lines, fewer mis-scans, less friction; Technical Shift: tiny, cheap computer vision models beating early JWO’s heavy stacks; Pilot Path: start with a two-aisle zone or kiosk, run 90 days, watch your throughput lift.”
He concluded: “Checkout-free retail isn’t dying. It’s finally getting practical. This shift is only going one direction… toward simpler, cheaper, and smarter autonomy.”
2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS
Autonomous stores were a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.
We received a record number of entries and many fantastic examples of the continued resilience and dynamism of the retail space during hugely challenging times.
For a full rundown of all of the shortlisted entries, click here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC in Central London on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
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