"If you're unfamiliar, the premise of the store is that shoppers identify themselves at the entrance, walk in, select the items that they want, and then a combination of AI, sensors and computer vision determine the items in their basket and process an automatic payment via a customer's Amazon account when they walk out. If that sounds weird and disorienting then I can assure you having visited an outlet out of pure curiosity and having left distressed it is."
"Among the reasons given for the venture's failure, from location choices to struggling to differentiate itself in the market, one financial analyst has suggested that till-less technology always felt a little awkward. When I visited I wasn't totally clear on how to get in or, frankly, how to get out. A sense of panic overwhelmed me as I wondered if the sensors would process me changing my mind about an item and putting it back on the shelf, or charge me for it."
Amazon Fresh is closing all 19 London stores after under five years of operation. The stores used walk-out technology where shoppers identify themselves at the entrance, pick items, and a combination of AI, sensors and computer vision determines items and charges the customer's Amazon account on exit. Some shoppers experienced confusion about how to enter and exit, anxiety about being charged for items returned to shelves, and concerns that sensors and cameras connected to phones amount to surveillance overreach. Analysts cited location choices, weak market differentiation and an awkward customer experience. Similar scan-to-exit systems have felt intrusive and frequently malfunctioned.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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