Amazon has been trying to revolutionize the grocery shopping experience for 17 years, but has yet to successfully disrupt the industry. Amazon Fresh stores in Seattle offer three different approaches to shopping: the Just Walk Out cashierless technology, the Amazon Dash Cart, and the traditional checkout line. A recent experiment conducted by GeekWire compared the three methods using a 10-item shopping list to determine the fastest and most seamless option. Surprisingly, the Just Walk Out technology, which Amazon plans to phase out, was found to be the most efficient, while the Dash Cart, the approach Amazon is focusing on, was the least favorite option.
Just Walk Out technology uses cameras and sensors to track items picked up by shoppers and automatically charges them upon exiting the store. The Dash Cart features built-in sensors and scanners that allow shoppers to register items as they place them in the cart. The experiment conducted by GeekWire at an Amazon Fresh store in Seattle found that the traditional checkout method using a non-digital cart was the easiest and most simple option, despite taking more time. The clunky and inconsistent process of scanning and entering items into the Dash Cart made it the most frustrating option for the shoppers.
The Dash Cart posed difficulties, especially with produce items, where it was unclear whether to scan the barcode or enter the product code manually on the cart screen. Additionally, issues such as the built-in scale detecting minor weight changes and requiring clearances and notifications on the screen added to the frustration. Despite some appealing features of the Dash Cart, such as proximity sensors and Alexa integration, the overall user experience was found to be cumbersome and challenging.
The Just Walk Out technology, on the other hand, was discovered to be the most seamless and fastest shopping method during the experiment. Shoppers simply had to walk around the store, place items in a regular cart, and then exit through a Just Walk Out lane after scanning the code in the Amazon app. This approach took less than 9 minutes, compared to 12 minutes with the Dash Cart and 14 minutes with the traditional checkout method. The convenience and efficiency of the Just Walk Out technology outshined the other two options tested by the GeekWire team.
Despite the benefits of the Just Walk Out technology, there are factors influencing Amazon’s decision to shift focus away from this method in large-format grocery stores. The extensive tech infrastructure required, including cameras, sensors, and other equipment, adds to the cost and complexity of implementing cashierless technology on a larger scale. Recent reports also suggest that Amazon is cutting back on employees within its Physical Stores Technology organization, which includes identity and checkout teams, as part of broader cutbacks in the company’s cloud division. However, Amazon remains committed to expanding its identity and checkout technologies in small-format stores and third-party locations based on customer feedback and ongoing innovations.
