Amazon's new grocery store project removes checkouts and lines

Amazon has announced a new project which removes the checkout process from grocery shopping. Titled Amazon Go, Amazon will open a (brick and mortar) grocery store in 2017 in which customers can use a smartphone app to automatically pay for goods in something it’s calling “just walk out” shopping.

“What would shopping look like if you could walk into a store, grab what you want, and just go?” Asks the narrator in the Amazon Go launch video. It appears that customers scan a QR code, presented by the app, upon entering the store to register it; then, they can begin shopping as they normally would and any products they pick up is added to a “virtual basket”. Anything returned to the shelf will be automatically removed.

Amazon claims that customers can then walk out the store with the items on their person without going through the checkout process – presumably through an automatic payment with a credit card registered via the app. Check out how it looks in the trailer below.

The store, which is located at 2131 7th Ave, Seattle, WA, is currently only available for Amazon employees, but Amazon said it would open to the public next year. If you’re interested, you can sign up for updates on when it will launch here.

What are your thoughts on Amazon Go?  Let us know in the comments.