Amazon has announced that it will be bringing its cashier-less technology to two brand new Wholefoods stores in 2022! The stores located in Washington DC and Sherman Oaks, California will be the first Wholefoods stores to feature the system, allowing shoppers to pick their items and leave without even having to open their wallet.
How does it work, you ask? Shoppers simply scan a QR code in either the Amazon or the Wholefoods app when they enter the store; cameras and sensors then detect what has been taken off the shelf, and after scanning the QR code again upon leaving, the items are then charged to the customer via their Amazon account. Pretty neat, huh?!
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Amazon first showed off its cashier-less technology back in 2018 at an Amazon Go convenience store, and has since rolled it out to larger Amazon Supermarkets. This though will be the first time it will be seen in any of the 500+ Wholefoods stores, which Amazon took over four years ago. But those traditionalists who prefer to check out the old-fashioned way needn't worry, as there will still be self-checkout lanes accepting cash, card and other forms of payment too, so customers will still have the option to choose how they shop and pay. Phew!
A common concern with these automated processes is what will happen to the workers, but Amazon has assured everyone that it will still hire the same number of employees as it normally would, but they will simply have different roles such as helping customers in aisles or at counters rather than sitting behind a register. Amazon hasn’t divulged how many workers it will employ in its Washington and Sherman Oaks stores, nor has it commented on whether the cashier-less technology will be heading to more (new or existing) stores in the near future, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as we know more.
