The worst part about shopping is the inevitable check-out counter. For those in a rush, it can be a living nightmare. Because the check-out dynamic is constantly fluctuating, it is impossible to gauge whether you can get in and out in time. It all depends on the variables: the length of the lines, the amount of cashiers, and the amount of groceries per shopper, etc.
However, such an inconvenience may soon be a thing of the past. Recently, Amazon Go opened a futuristic grocery store in which there are no check-outs. In fact, you can literally walk into their shop, grab your items of choice, and leave, and everything will be painlessly charged to your credit card.
So how is this magic even possible? In an article on The Telegraph, James Titcomb breaks down the inner workings of the revolutionary system:
The shop has a network of CCTV cameras and pressure sensors to detect when visitors have taken something off the shelves, at which point it is added to their virtual shopping basket. When they exit the store, their purchases are charged directly to the shopper’s online Amazon account, without the need to wait at the till.
Unlike the pressure sensors at many hotel minibars, which charge people as soon as they are triggered, consumers can remove an item from their basket and put it back on the shelf without being charged.
Cameras and sensors in the store constantly register the movements of customers, charging them for only their final purchases. Furthermore, shoplifters beware! To prevent theft, the store has installed gates on the front of the stores which require scanning a code in order to enter. There is no getting out without being charged to your credit card.
Although the store is presently only available to Amazon employees, it is supposed to open to the public as of next year. Exciting, because lines cannot end soon enough!