AMAZON OPENED THE DOORS TO ITS AI-POWERED GROCERY STORE, AMAZON GO, THIS WEEK IN SEATTLE. BUT JUST HOW DOES IT WORK? CAN YOU REALLY JUST WALK INTO A SHOP, PICK UP WHAT YOU WANT AND LEAVE WITHOUT PASSING A CHECKOUT?
When Amazon first announced plans to open its own grocery store that didn’t require checkouts, we all thought it was mad and stuff you’d see in the movies. Well, a year later than planned, Amazon has made us eat humble pie and opened the doors to its first Amazon Go store in Seattle.
Artificial Intelligence and machine learning used to be a thing you’d see in films like Blade Runner, but at Beyond Clicks we are using it every day in our marketing to further our client’s reach and sales. AI is already changing the way that search results are ranked. Machine learning can also facilitate the way searches take place, helping users find contextualised results.
For example, you may have noticed when you type a query into the search bar on Google it recommends results you wanted to search. You may have thought it was just a coincidence or Google was tapping into your brain whilst you slept, but, rest assured, it’s neither of those things…. especially not the latter. Both AI and machine learning are contributing to a more personalised experience. They know what you are searching for, when, on what device and how often. It can now tailor ads to you based on this information and reflect this in SERPs.
With the rise of voice search and digital assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa, SEO marketers need to be developing strategies to keep up with trends and convert customers into conversions.
Anyway, we digress. Let’s get back to Amazon Go.
How Does Amazon Go Work?
Before customers can enter the store, they must first install the Amazon Go app on their recent-generation iPhone or Android phone and have a default payment card selected.
Then, much like a boarding pass on your phone, shoppers scan a QR code upon entering and simply put their phones away, as they aren’t needed. Amazon has spent the last four years building a technology that “automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart.” When shoppers exit the store, their default card is charged and a receipt appears in the app.
According to Amazon, they have used “computer vision, deep learning algorithms and sensor fusion, much like you would find in self-driving cars” and they call it…wait for it… “just walk out technology.”
The irony wasn’t lost on the queues of people waiting to be the first inside the store
Will It Go Global?
Before it goes global and hits a major city near you, it has to overcome several issues, most notably the skeptics.
When we first heard of this store, we automatically thought of the problems that would occur. How does it know what product you have? What if it bills you for items you didn’t pick up? How will it cope with crowds? What if products are picked up and put back in the wrong place, will the technology know this? We assume Amazon has stress tested all these variables.
This isn’t the first time Amazon has ventured down the grocery isle.
In certain areas of the UK, we already have Amazon Fresh; Amazon’s grocery delivery system. This seemed like another brash idea again, but has been met with roaring success.
Will Amazon Go Last?
In recent years, Amazon has been reinvesting huge chunks of its profits back into AI and machine learning technology. From buying up companies to creating its own technology, it is the leader in the AI market and is continuing to race ahead at a speed of knots.
Having started out in a garage in 1994, the company is now turning over $43.7 billion in Q3 2017. If it continues to grow, Amazon Go will certainly go the length.
It will turn the retail environment on its head and is sure to leave some retail CEOs scratching their head. Could Amazon sell its technology to other companies? Will it keep it for itself and its ever-expanding empire?
From a marketing perspective, all we can think about is the amount of data Amazon will be able to collect from its new retail venture. It will be enormously valuable on multiple levels and help inform the company’s online grocery business, as well as opening the door to offline-to-online retargeting.
Oh. Before we go, at the end of Amazon’s promotional video (which you can see below), they leave you with the slogan “No lines. No checkout. (No. Seriously)”.