Amazon Fresh - No Cash & Speedy Carry
Amazon opened their first international Amazon Fresh Go Store in West London this week. There are around 2 dozen stores in the US which feature the cash free / check out free “Just Walk Out” technology.
I couldn’t resist checking it out and since the 10km round trip walk from home could count as a ‘government approved’ exercise in these COVID-19 times I set out to experience how it felt to be a de facto shoplifter on Friday.
The store is in Ealing on the corner of a shopping mall. Ealing makes sense for a test. A vibrant community with a lot of new-build apartments close by.
As I got a little closer I could see that I was not the only person with the same idea. Go figure, tech is sexy and interesting..
It was a well organised line. Socially distanced with Amazon personnel at regular intervals to answer questions and masks and sanitiser stations along the line. It moved quickly. My iPhone automatically latched on to the Amazon WiFi. That is NOT required to use the store but clearly, it is another data point for them.
With the end in sight by this point I still had done no preparation.
Almost there some simple instructions.
And at that point you open your Amazon App on your phone, click the basket icon and then select ‘Fresh Code’.
You scan this QR code at the gate. It swings open and you are in a normal grocery store.
Clean, bright, and a very good selection with prices comparable with anywhere else. You can remove an item and replace it. A lot of the “magic” happens in the ceiling which is festooned with cameras but the shelves also have weight sensors. This article from TechCrunch in 2018 explains the technology.
From the second you scan your QR code these cameras are tracking your movements with pinpoint accuracy and seeing what you pick up and place into your bag (or pocket). Retain an item and it’s added to your virtual list, replace it and it’s not. I guess it’s important not to reach up to a high shelf to get something for a fellow shopper - presumably that would end up on your bill. There are staff around and a security guard stood at the alcohol section to ensure people are over the legal age.
This is looking down towards the exit barrier. When your shop is complete you just walk through the barrier.
I purposefully picked a random selection of items from different areas. Chiller, magazine stand, alcohol section, regular shelves. They had a wide selection and you could do your weekly shop here easily. Here’s my shopping. I bought one of their bags but you could use your own.
The one thing that surprised me was it was not an instantaneous financial transaction. In fact I got home took a photograph of what I bought.
And it was a couple of hours before I received an email with my receipt, with the transactions on my app and the money was deducted from my account.
When I got home the green notifications ring on Alexa was pulsating - was she ready to congratulate me on my first Fresh retail experience ? No, she was just reminding me I had a book delivery from Amazon Prime. Yup, we can see where all of this is going - Mr Bezos has an ever-increasing share of our retail expenditure.
So what did I think ? Well if there was one in my neighborhood I would use it all the time. Selection and quality were high and the pricing was good. It was an efficient and streamlined process and FOR ONCE it felt like the technology was there to help the customer. In other stores, ‘enhancements’ such as self-service checkouts and scanning as you shop are about you doing the work. Amazon Fresh Go felt like a walk in the park.
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Mark Izatt is a brand consultant living in London and founder of Mission Critical, a highly focused and curated weekly briefing for time poor and information hungry decision makers.
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