In a blog post, Amazon said the technology, called
"Just Walk Out," is coming to two Whole Foods locations scheduled to
open in 2022. One store will be located in the Glover Park neighborhood of
Washington, D.C., and the other in Sherman Oaks, California.
Amazon's "Just Walk Out" technology allows
shoppers to enter a store by scanning an app and exit without needing to stand
in a checkout line. Cameras and sensors track what items shoppers select and
charge them when they leave.
At the upcoming Whole Foods locations, shoppers who want to
skip the checkout line enter the store by either scanning an app, inserting a
credit or debit card linked to their Amazon account or placing their palm over
the company's palm-scanning payment system, called Amazon One.
Shoppers who opt out of using Amazon's cashierless
technology will only be able to ring up their items using self-checkout or at a
customer service booth.
Amazon has deployed its cashierless technology across a
growing number of store formats, including at several Fresh grocery stores and
in its Go convenience stores. It also sells the technology to third-party
retailers. Amazon launching the technology in Fresh and Whole Foods locations
puts it ahead of start-ups that have developed similar systems but have largely
struggled to roll them out to bigger stores due to the technical challenges.
The expansion of Amazon's "Just Walk Out" system
is likely to raise the ire of labor unions who have previously warned the
technology will lead to the elimination of cashiers. Amazon argued in the blog
post that the technology will allow Whole Foods employees to do other work in
the stores.
"These locations will employ a comparable number of
Team Members as existing Whole Foods Markets stores of similar sizes," the
company said. "With Just Walk Out-enabled Whole Foods Market stores, how
Team Members in the store spend their time is simply shifting, allowing them to
spend even more time interacting with customers and delivering a great shopping
experience."
Amazon has brought other high-tech changes to Whole Foods since it acquired the grocery chain in 2017 for more than $13 billion. In April, Amazon launched its palm-scanning payment system at a Seattle Whole Foods store and has since added the technology to other locations.
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