Amazon Go: The Most AI-Powered Cashierless Store in the World

Have you ever experienced or thought about going shopping without having to wait in a long line to pay, use cash, and with no cashiers or security guards? In today's video, my Wonder Channel will take you on a quick tour of the store in just around 30 seconds. You can make your selections, pay, and leave without interacting with other people. The unbelievable Amazon Go shopping experience is only available in the U.S. Unlike traditional supermarkets or retail establishments, Amazon Go allows customers to just stroll around the shop, pick up the things they need, and go without having to pay at the register. Don't forget to hit subscribe to watch more captivating videos from my Wonder Channel. Amazon Go, Amazon's first store, has officially opened for everyone located on the ground floor of Amazon's new headquarters on 7th Avenue in Seattle. In front of the store, a few groups of people were lining up and scanning the code to check into the store. Amazon Go is perhaps the lone exception in this instance. To be fair, there's more to see in this store than in the typical museums or art exhibits. Although it opened a year later than expected, the store still attracts a lot of attention because it uses a unique type of technology that Amazon believes could make paying at the register seem obsolete. The Amazon Go store is unique in that it is staff-free, not even the cashier. The e-commerce giant came up with an incredibly original idea to transform our everyday purchasing. The Amazon Go app, which is linked to your bank account when you signed up for Amazon Prime Service, must be downloaded on your phone in order for you to be able to purchase at this store. The turnstiles in the store are operated by scanning a code from the app when you enter. Once you've done that, you're able to shop, pick up products to place in your bag or basket without taking it to the register due to automatic smartphone payment, which is connected to your Amazon Prime account. You can simply walk out when you're done, rather than having to see the cashier like you would in a traditional store. As you can see, the store features lots of cameras and sensors, making shopping much easier and more personalized. When a consumer enters the store and takes an item off the shelf, the system is able to identify them. Amazon is very confident in not needing security because of its system. This is truly a revolution when everyone does not need to line up at the cashier like they used to. All they need to do is walk in, grab the items they need, and then walk out. Payment will be done automatically. There are two types of Amazon Go stores in the U.S. Amazon Go serves breakfast, lunch, and all sorts of snacks that are ready. Amazon Go. Grocery, produce, ready-made dinners, and household essentials. There are similar stores in London, but in the U.K. they are called Amazon Fresh. These stores work by using the same types of technologies found in self-driving cars, such as computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning. This technology can detect when products are taken or returned to the shelves and keep track of them in your virtual cart. When you leave the store with your goods, your Amazon account is charged and you are sent a receipt. The app has a navigation bar at the bottom with tabs for four screens, key, receipts, about, and more. The key screen seems to bring up the QR code that the store's turnstiles scan to let you in, while the receipt screen shows what you bought after you've left. Although there is no employee working at the store, customers can make returns without any hassle or difficulty. Similar to when purchasing, customers can easily return items by simply scanning the user code on the application at the door, picking up the item they wish to return, going to the counter to place it there, finishing the return, and leaving. As soon as you leave the store, you will receive a refund and receive a notification on your phone application for the money in your prior purchase account. To make sure that customers are only charged for what they receive, Amazon uses a combination of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and data gathered from many sensors. Cameras are used to track items as they are removed from shelves. A patent application filed by Amazon in early 2015 first revealed details about the technology. The patent describes a store that would work using a system of cameras, sensors, and or RFID readers to identify shoppers and their items. There is also a mention of facial recognition and user information, which may include images of the user, details about the user like height and weight, user biometrics, a username and password, even user purchase history. Amazon is not entirely sure if this patent application precisely describes the final iteration of Just Walkout technology. However, it is a camera tracking system, and it must also use some kind of AI to track you through the store. Does Amazon Go Grocery really have no employees? No, Amazon just replaces their jobs. Instead of cashiers and salespeople, they play the role of representatives of the store because it is an indispensable part of the customer experience here. This means cashiers will no longer be needed. However, there will still be a few staff working in the store. These employees are responsible for welcoming customers at the door, arranging and replenishing goods on shelves. One employee checking ID cards will be stationed near the bar, and at least six employees will work the kitchen counter. In the fresh food areas, they will answer all customer questions and concerns as well as give product suggestions. Amazon does not cut staff, they simply optimize the work of store employees, so they can focus more time on care, consulting and providing better experiences to customers. This idea has been cherished by Amazon for the past five years, when they asked the question, what can we do to increase convenience for customers? Amazon's chief technology officer, Mr. Diyab Kumar, who used to be a technical advisor to CEO Jeff Bezos, has been wondering about this for a long time. And one of the most pressing questions people seem to ask themselves is, what happens if you try to steal something? Or in other words, can Amazon guarantee that the items on its shelves will not be stolen by someone and bypass surveillance cameras? CNBC technology reporter, Deirdre Bosa, also wanted to find out. So she conducted an experiment at the Amazon Go store. The result was quite surprising when Deirdre walked out of the Amazon Go store without being charged for a cup of Siggy yogurt. The truth is that anyone can go into a store and commit theft if they want. Amazon's reaction when hearing this was also really surprising, because Amazon doesn't care. Amazon quickly realized its mistake when Go Vice President Gianna Puorini told CNBC, first and foremost, enjoy the yogurt we offer. Puorini went on to say that accidental shoplifting is so rare that we didn't even build a feature for customers to let us know it happened. Amazon has absolutely no measures in place to handle theft cases. Amazon also makes no distinction between those who accidentally leave without paying and those who intend to steal. Previously, the Amazon Go store was only tested internally among the company's employees. That's why there has never been a case of theft. But in reality, things can be much more complicated. All of that raises a concern when these store systems are applied in practice and scaled up around the world. Of course, losing a box of yogurt will not affect Amazon's huge revenue. But for other retailers, it is a big problem if they cannot manage and monitor their products. Amazon Go is truly a revolution, but for it to become popular, it will definitely take a long time to continue to perfect. All forms of retail also face shoplifting as a fixed cost of running a brick and mortar business. And Amazon's immense size, scale, and financial warfare mean is that Amazon can pass on those costs more than any comparable company in retail. The other factor to keep in mind is that perhaps Amazon's system is so good that stealing isn't an option. Anyway, should you remember how someone would steal from Amazon Go? You still have to sign in with your Prime account, and you still have to buy items so it won't be suspected that you're wandering around the store and then leaving without your bag. With cameras tracking your every move and sensors detecting even the most subtle change in inventory, even the most daring thieves wouldn't be able to find a loophole. However, Amazon once announced that it has no way of knowing or detecting unpaid items, and it doesn't even care that it might experience some loss at the end of the day. It will be interesting to see how customers adapt to the Amazon Go experience and whether any well-intentioned or malicious testers seek to sabotage it. When the famous shopping brand Amazon announced the world's most advanced shopping technology project in 2019, retailers were constantly connecting with technology businesses to learn how to create a one-stop-shop, new-style store without staff. The advent of new technology barcodes that do not support the item level tagging feature of the Internet of Things, IoT era, and open intelligent algorithms using artificial intelligence have made this model possible. From the moment you set foot in the Amazon Go grocery store to shop, the artificial intelligence camera system will observe, capture, and analyze every single action you make inside the store. From this technology, Amazon will know what you like, which section you go to, and how long it takes you to shop, thereby using this data to serve you better in the future. Experts believe that Amazon's success is that they can collect a huge amount of data and understand consumer shopping behavior by applying advanced machine learning algorithm technology. Counterless technology has been applied by Amazon to 25 Amazon Go brand stores in Seattle, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, USA. This explains why Amazon is looking to expand and diversify its direct retail business model. Amazon Go targets the quick lunch needs of office customers, while Amazon Go grocery targets the daily shopping needs of local consumers. Meanwhile, the high-end grocery store chain, Whole Foods, focuses on serving the wealthy customer segment who like to use organic food. In an interview with The Verge, Dilip Kumar, Amazon's vice president of physical retail and technology, noted, this is not a bigger Amazon Go store, it's a separate format. We worked backwards from what constitutes a neighborhood grocery store. For instance, he noted, we have a section for pet food, household items, health and personal care, oral care, skin care. Meanwhile, Amazon Go stores currently only focus on selling processed foods and snacks, but some foods include frozen foods. Amazon Go grocery will fully meet the needs of consumers when they shop at traditional grocery stores. This means that besides food, they can buy paper towels, dishwashing liquid, shampoo, deodorant, and many more. Outside of the U.S., Amazon operates 19 fresh stores across London, UK Amazon. Fresh stores offer a mix of everyday essentials, local favorites, and seasonal items. Additionally, some stores also offer ready-to-eat meals. Recently, China's WeChat app, EasyGo self-service store group, and their partners also joined hands to open the first self-service store in Shanghai City. The operating model of the store is similar to Amazon Go as shoppers. You need to scan a QR code with their WeChat app to enter the store. Sensors at the exit detect the shopper's selections and automatically charge their WeChat wallet, the amount of money the customer deposits into the app, when they go through a payment door. In the future, with the development of new facial and image recognition technology, it is likely that stores of this type will be adopted so that it only takes about 0.1 seconds for shoppers to pay the bill for the product. High-tech companies such as Intel or IBM are also providing new technology sets to the market to create similar employee-free stores. Don't hesitate to leave a comment below to let me know if you liked this video. Please share the love and give it a thumbs up as well as hit the subscribe button so you never miss an update from us. Thanks for watching and see you soon. Bye bye!