Last Updated on 22/11/2021 by Sunaina
Amazon’s cashierless retail technology has purportedly gained its first client outside of the United States. Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second largest supermarket chain, will use Amazon’s AI-powered surveillance cameras to run a cashierless grocery shop in London, according to Bloomberg News.
According to reports, Amazon’s cashierless retail technology has secured its first international customer. Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second largest supermarket chain, will employ Amazon’s AI-powered surveillance camera system to run a cashierless grocery shop in London, according to Bloomberg News.
The shop, on High Holborn near Sainsbury’s headquarters, will utilise machine learning technology and cameras to track what customers buy. Customers use the Sainsbury’s app to scan a QR code in and out of the shop, and any products they leave with are instantly paid. Sainsbury’s claims that the system does not utilise face recognition, that customer account data is not shared with the technology’s provider, and that photos captured by the cameras are “generally” removed within 30 days.
Amazon’s cashierless technology had its public debut in 2018 with the opening of a single Amazon Go shop in Seattle. The firm presently has a few dozen sites in the United States, as well as six Amazon Fresh outlets in the United Kingdom. According to Bloomberg, the US IT firm has also sold its systems to other stores, including three in the United States (Hudson Markets, OTG CIBO Express, and Delaware North) and Sainsbury’s in the United Kingdom. The system is marketed as “Just Walk Out” technology. It’s also been gradually expanding the technology to include larger supermarkets.
There have been some doubts regarding Amazon’s technology’s practicality, notably whether the cost of its systems is worth it for shops. However, Amazon’s sluggish rollout of storefronts, as well as similar offers from competitor digital firms and merchants, imply that the concept has some inherent appeal. Or, at the very least, they don’t want to be outmanoeuvred by Amazon, so they’re rushing to keep up with the internet behemoth.
Three cashierless food stores may now be found on London’s High Holborn alone (though only one is currently open to the public). In addition to the Sainsbury’s store, there’s an Amazon Fresh (the company’s ninth in London) and Tesco’s first cashierless store, constructed with technology from Israeli firm Trigo.
