Amazon is reportedly bringing its cashier-less technology to the company’s full-size grocery store format. Bloomberg uncovered planning documents for an Amazon Fresh store under construction in Connecticut that show entry and exit gates and ceiling-mounted racks, which are used in Amazon’s smaller Amazon Go and Go Grocery stores and eliminate the need for physical cashiers.
It’s the first sign that Amazon is bringing the “Just Walk Out” tech to its U.S. Amazon Fresh grocery stores, which debuted in August in California. The stores are designed to be similar to a traditional full-service grocery store but with some added technology, including smart grocery carts and Amazon Echo devices that help shoppers navigate aisles. Now it appears they’ll also have the “Just Walk Out” tech to allow shoppers to select items and leave stores without waiting in checkout lines.
Amazon declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.
Adding the cashierless tech to the large format store would be a milestone for Amazon given its cost and complexity. Amazon is selling its Amazon Go technology to other retailers. There are also a flurry of competitors developing their own cashierless tech and pitching retailers.
This week Amazon announced that its palm-reading biometric identification system will be available at a Whole Foods store in Seattle; the tech had previously been available at select Amazon retail locations.
