Amazon Just Walk Out solution rethink shows why context matters so much in the emerging technology space
It was recently announced that more than 36.7 million items have been sold in Amazon Just Walk Out technology enabled locations over the span of a year (June 2024 to May 2025). And almost none of these sales took place in an Amazon store.
How quickly things change. In the not so distant past, Amazon was boasting that Just Walk Out powered checkout-free experiences would revolutionise the grocery retail sector. Yet two years ago, it was busy closing or stripping the technology out of every Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go store, and redeploying the same tech into the environments where it actually fits, such as stadiums, theme parks, and university campuses.
In a LinkedIn post, Michael Guzzetta, Retail Innovation & Strategy Leader at Cookie Plug San Antonio, and a former H-E-B executive, noted that this move hits on something he came to believe after spending years exploring frictionless checkout, computer vision, and autonomous retail concepts during his time at H-E-B. The technology itself was never the biggest issue. The economics and customer context were, he observed.
“Big box grocery is an incredibly hard environment for this model in its current form. Huge footprints. Massive SKU counts. Complex shopper behaviour. Thin margins. Customers changing their minds every 12 seconds while comparing avocado prices like it’s a blood sport. The math gets ugly fast!” he said.
“But I’ve always felt these experiences could work extremely well in places like theme parks, cruise lines, resorts, airports, stadiums, and certain hotel environments where guests value time more than optimisation. Different mindset. Different expectations. People are already in experience mode and willing to pay a premium for convenience, novelty, and reduced friction. That’s why context matters so much in emerging technology.”
Guzzetta concluded: “The same solution can fail in one environment and thrive in another without changing the core technology at all. Capability is only half the story. The operating environment determines whether the business case survives.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Checkout-free stores will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC 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.
