Amazon is removing Just Walk Out technology from Amazon Fresh stores, including the Oceanside store, as part of a shake-up of the grocery chain.
The company's well-known technology allows customers to pay for items without queuing and then send a receipt. Amazon says it will be replaced with a smart cart that will allow customers to not only skip the checkout line but also see their spending in real time.
Amazon spokeswoman Carly Golden said that when the company redesigned its Fresh stores last year, the company heard from customers who said they liked the idea of not having to wait in line at the checkout, but they also wanted to see their receipts and savings while shopping. He heard that. Golden said Smart Cart provides customers with these benefits, as well as the convenience of skipping the checkout line.
Amazon's decision was first reported by The Information.
According to Amazon's website, 27 of its 44 Fresh grocery stores nationwide, most of which are located in California, Illinois, Virginia and Washington, have Just Walk Out technology. It is said that there is.
The Oceanside store, located at 3620 Long Beach Rd., opened in July 2022 in a 47,300-square-foot former Waldbaum's supermarket space.
New York State's only fresh produce supermarket.
Amazon also operates cashierless convenience stores under the Amazon Go brand and owns Whole Foods, which it acquired in 2017 for $13.7 billion.
Despite predictions that Amazon's entry into the grocery space would disrupt the market, the Seattle-based company is struggling to figure out what works.
In 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in his annual letter to shareholders that Amazon is committed to finding the right formula that will allow it to have a significant impact on physical groceries. I wrote that I am working on it. The company closed some of its Amazon Fresh and Go stores after failing to deliver on its promises, and early last year announced it would pause expansion of Fresh stores.
In November, the company reopened three Fresh stores in Los Angeles, California. Golden, an Amazon spokeswoman, said the company is currently working “selectively” to open new Fresh stores and renovate the majority of existing stores.
The company said Just Walk Out technology will continue to be available in Amazon Go stores in the UK and some smaller Amazon Fresh stores. We also plan to continue providing our technology to third-party retailers.
With Tory N. Parrish
