Amazon Go launching new store format for the suburbs
Amazon is adapting its Amazon Go checkout-free convenience concept with a new format for suburban locations.
The new format, which will still be called Amazon Go, will make its debut in the coming months, in Mill Creek, Wash. The total square footage of the store will be 6,150 sq. ft., with about 3,240 sq. ft. devoted to the shopping experience. The new format will also open in the Los Angeles-metro area.
The Amazon Go suburban format, which will feature the company's “Just Walk Out” technology, will be designed to offer customers a quick shopping experience to pick up grab-and-go food, snacks and beverage items and a few everyday essentials. Customers will also be able to choose from a full selection of beer and wine, including local favorites. The store will also feature several new offerings which Amazon said it will announce after the store opens.
Amazon opened the first Amazon Go in January 2018, in Seattle. The concept has since expanded to 24 locations across the United States including a “Starbucks Pickup with Amazon Go” location jointly operated with Starbucks in mid-town Manhattan. In addition, Amazon debuted Amazon Go Grocery, since rebranded to Amazon Fresh, in February 2020; and also operates an Amazon Fresh grocery store in the Ealing section of London.
Amazon's Just Walk Out technology leverages a combination of computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning that enables shoppers to shop the store, pick out what they want and skip the checkout when they’re done. When shoppers arrive, they open the Amazon app, tap “In-Store Code,” and scan in with the QR code presented. At select Amazon Go store locations, customers can also enter the store by using a credit card linked to their Amazon account or by using the Amazon One palm-based payment solution.
Beyond Amazon Go, Amazon has been busy developing store formats that leverage its Just Walk Out frictionless shopping platform. In August 2020, Amazon introduced a checkout-free grocery format called Amazon Fresh. The company designed the format from the ground up to offer a seamless shopping experience with extra perks for members of the Amazon Prime paid loyalty program.
Amazon now operates at least 20 Amazon Fresh stores across the U.S., including eight in California, five in Illinois, three in Washington State, and one each in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
The company is also featuring leading-edge contactless shopping and payment options, including Just Walk Out and Amazon One, at its Climate Pledge Arena net-zero carbon-certified arena in Seattle. The Just Walk Out technology-enabled stores will sell beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee, water, and feature food offerings from The Climate Collective, the arena's food and beverage program. Customers purchasing alcohol will be required to show their ID to a store attendant for age verification.
In addition to being offered at Amazon Go convenience stores and Amazon Fresh grocery stores, Just Walk Out has also been licensed to other third-party retailers.