QuikTrip opens high-tech store with Amazon cashierless technology
One of the nation’s largest convenience retailers is launching a store featuring the Amazon “Just Walk Out” technology platform.
The new QuikTrip store, located in Tulsa, is the retailer’s first to run on checkout-free technology. Customers at the non-gasoline location will be able to insert their credit card at the store’s entry gate, shop like normal, and then leave the store. The licensed Amazon “Just Walk Out” solution uses a combination of computer vision, sensor fusion, and machine-learning algorithms to determine what items shoppers take from or return to the shelves, and when they leave, the credit card they inserted will be charged for the items they took.
Originally available only in Amazon Go convenience and small-format grocery stores, Amazon then began rolling out Just Walk Out to select Amazon Fresh high-tech grocery locations, as well as select stores in its Climate Pledge Arena venue in Seattle. The retailer also licenses the technology to third-party retailers, such as airport convenience chain Cibo Express, and travel retailer Hudson, which has deployed a licensed version of Amazon Just Walk Out in its contactless shopping format called Hudson Nonstop.
In addition, Amazon licenses the Just Walk Out platform to third-party sports and entertainment venues such as New York-based UBS Arena.
Amazon works with retailers to install hardware for Just Walk Out, such as cameras and sensors, at existing stores while “minimizing impact” on operations or to include it in construction plans for new and remodeled stores. The e-tailer says installation can take as little as “a few weeks” from when it gains access to a store. Amazon says it will offer “all necessary technologies” and a 24/7 customer support line.
The company advises that Just Walk Out-enabled stores will still need human associates to perform tasks such as greeting customers, stocking shelves, and checking IDs for certain products. Amazon says it will only collect the data needed to provide an accurate receipt.
“Do customers like standing in lines?” Dilip Kumar, Amazon VP of physical retail and technology, said in a previous statement to Reuters. “This has pretty broad applicability across store sizes, across industries, because it fundamentally tackles a problem of how do you get convenience in physical locations, especially when people are hard-pressed for time.”
“We are excited to expand our presence in Tulsa with our second non-gas location nationwide and we look forward to introducing this new innovative store experience to the downtown Tulsa community,” said Aisha Jefferson-Smith, QuikTrip corporate communications manager, in an official statement. “Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology is designed to eliminate checkout lines, enabling customers to enjoy a frictionless shopping experience and get what they need quickly.”
QuikTrip Corp. is a privately-held company headquartered in Tulsa, Okla. Founded in 1958, QuikTrip has grown to a more than $11 billion company with over 950 stores in 16 states.