Amazon has opened the second location of its checkout-less grocery concept Amazon Go in Seattle.
The store, first discovered by GeekWire last month, is located in the base of the Madison Centre office tower at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Marion Street. This location, the company said, is 1,450 square feet and features pre-prepared meals from Amazon chefs and other local companies, as well as meal kits and snacks.
The first Amazon Go store debuted one mile away at the base of Amazon’s Day One tower in January, after more than a year of fine-tuning the concept by allowing only employees to shop there. It appears Amazon has figured out how to replicate the technology as this location hasn’t been subject to the same rigorous employee testing and is now open to the public.
The store relies heavily on the Amazon Go smartphone app. Customers scan a unique QR code within the app before passing through a set of glass doors, similar to the gates Amazon employees go through when entering their office buildings every morning. A vast array of overhead cameras and weight sensors in the shelves automatically track what people pick up and take from the store.
When customers leave, they just walk out. Amazon Go’s systems automatically debit their accounts for the items they take, sending the receipt to the app. By logging shoppers in at the entrance, then tracking their actions in the store, the system eliminates the need for traditional checkout registers and checkout workers along with them.
Amazon has disclosed that it’s expanding Amazon Go beyond its hometown to San Francisco and Chicago. Earlier this year, Recode reported that Amazon plans to open as many as six additional Amazon Go stores beyond the original Seattle location.
Amazon Go drew giant lines when it opened in Seattle earlier this year. The store has a 4.5-star rating on Yelp, with customers raving about the concept.
Amazon Go is part of a broader push by Amazon into physical retail, including its acquisition of Whole Foods, its Amazon Books stores, and AmazonFresh Pickup locations.