Amazon expands contactless tech to Whole Foods stores in new market
Amazon is introducing its Amazon One palm payment technology at seven additional Whole Foods Market stores.
About a month after rolling out Amazon One as part of a cashierless shopping rollout at a Whole Foods store in Sherman Oaks, Calif. ,and two months after debuting it at a new store in Washington, D.C.’s Glover Park neighborhood, Amazon is making its Amazon One palm payment shopping experience available at a Whole Foods location in Austin, Texas.
Now, customers at the Arbor Trails Whole Foods store in the Austin market can hover their palm using the Amazon One palm-based payment system. To sign up for Amazon One, first customers insert their credit card in the palm reading device. Next, they hover their palm over the device and follow the prompts to associate that card with the unique palm signature being built by the device’s computer vision technology in real time. Customers have the option to enroll with one palm or both.
Once customers have enrolled, they can enter Amazon One-enabled stores by holding their palm above the Amazon One device at entry for about a second or so. The technology evaluates multiple aspects of a customer’s palm. No two palms are alike, so Amazon One analyzes all these aspects with its vision technology and selects the most distinct identifiers on a palm to create a unique palm signature.
Whole Foods customers using Amazon One will shop like normal and at the end of their trip, they scan their palm at checkout to pay. Learn more about how Amazon One works here.
Amazon One is planned to be added to all seven Whole Foods market locations n the Austin area in the coming weeks. This includes Whole Foods Market stores in the Domain, East Austin, Lamar, Gateway, Bee Cave, and Cedar Park neighborhoods.
“We are excited to introduce Amazon One as an option for our Austin-area Whole Foods Market customers," said Leandro Balbinot, CTO and senior VP, Whole Foods Market. We are always looking for new ways to satisfy and delight our customers and offer convenient options to improve the shopping experience.”
“Amazon One is all about making everyday activities, like paying at a store, easier and more convenient for customers,” said Thi Luu, director of product management, Amazon Physical Retail Technology. “By signing up for Amazon One with a credit or debit card, customers have the option to simply pay with their palm and get through check out faster. We built Amazon One to offer a quick, reliable, and secure way for people to identify themselves or authorize a transaction while moving seamlessly through their day.”