Amazon revolutionized online shopping in various ways, most notably with its 1-Click ordering which made buying goods and services deceptively easy and even more tempting than ever. Amazon just demoed its vision for in-store shopping solutions using its Amazon Go app and something it calls "Just Walk Out."
Usincg a cocktail of machine learning, computer vision and artificial intelligence, Amazon is gunning for, "no line, no checkouts, no registers," which sounds like heaven after what I've just been through at the new Uniqlo downtown store. With the Amazon Go App, you simply scan your device upon entering the store, collect all the items you want to buy and then they automatically go on you virtual shopping cart (put the items back and they are removed). You just walk out of the store and your account is automatically charged for your purchases.
While the technology is being demoed in Seattle and only with a select number of Amazon employees, this really does feel like the future and something that could very well revolutionize retail shopping, albeit at the expense of various jobs. For consumers, it takes away many of the pain points we experience specially during the busy shopping season.