(Pocket-lint) – Amazon’s cashierless tech, used in its Amazon Go convenience stores in the US, might come to Whole Foods supermarkets next year.
Amazon Go stores launched in 2016 for Amazon employees and then opened to the public in 2018. There are now roughly 20 locations using cashierless tech, which features cameras, sensors, and computer vision. It lets customers cash-out without needing to go through checkout lines. Simply walk in, pick out groceries, and walk out. We have a detailed guide on how the tech works here.
According to the New York Post, Whole Foods stores might begin adopting Amazon Go’s cashierless tech sometime during the second quarter of 2021. The rollout is apparently one of two final projects that Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon’s worldwide consumer unit, has planned before he retires next year. Keep in mind Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017, and many have long wondered when the chain will add the tech.
While cashierless tech sounds futuristic and fun to try, it is bound to mean fewer cashier jobs. Amazon also previously announced it would start selling it cashierless tech to other retailers. If widely adopted, this could spell doom for more than 16 million American retail jobs.
Writing by Maggie Tillman.
