Inside "Amazon Go Grocery": the company opened the first supermarket without cashiers and checkout lanes

Two years after launching a line of small grocery stores without cashiers, Amazon opened a full-fledged supermarket in Seattle. The Amazon Go Grocery store is located on an area of 715 square meters. The company did not disclose details about the construction of the new supermarket until its opening.

Inside, everything is equipped with the latest technology, and visitors do not need to pay for purchases at the checkout, because the amount is deducted from the electronic account. Find out what other unusual things you can see in "Amazon Go Grocery" from our material.In order to enter the store, you need to install a special application on your phone, and then scan the QR code placed on the door. Shelves are crammed with fresh food, and cameras and sensors overhead monitor the shopping process. Visitors no longer need to stand in line at the checkout or punch the goods themselves. The purchase amount will be automatically debited from the Amazon e-account immediately after the buyer leaves the supermarket.

The new format of "Amazon Go Grocery" allows people to make full-fledged purchases for the home, because it presents a very wide selection of goods. The company's executives plan to open several more similar hypermarkets in other American cities.

Despite the huge area, the supermarket is served by only a few employees. Inside the store is no different from the usual: shelves with fresh vegetables and fruits, meat, fish, dairy products and household goods. At the entrance there is a row of trolleys and shopping bags.

Hundreds of cameras on the ceiling closely monitor customers and record what they put in the carts. It is especially difficult for technology to identify goods in the department of vegetables and fruits, so everything is sold here not by kilograms, but by the piece. For example, one grapefruit costs $ 1.29 (about 85 rubles), and a banana costs 19 cents (about 12 rubles). Most of the other products in "Amazon Go Grocery" are sold in packages.Amazon's goal is to issue accurate receipts regardless of how many times a customer changes their choice, putting some products on their carts and choosing others instead. All actions are recorded by cameras, so visitors feel comfortable shopping.

For sale in the supermarket there are a number of organic products that come from farms. In total, Amazon Go Grocery has up to 5,000 items of goods — both national brands and local brands.

Fish, chicken and meat are delivered to the store several times a week in individual packaging. On the sign near the department there is information for buyers about the difference between ordinary meat and game, sea fish and farmed. The cheese department contains information about the varieties of cheeses.

Amazon Go Grocery also sells groceries, detergents, pet food, toys and much more.

Despite the fact that there are almost no maintenance staff in the supermarket, fresh bread and pastries are always present on the shelves, there are coffee machines. Only at the entrance to the alcohol department there is an employee who checks the passports of buyers for their coming of age. The store also has a large stand with ready-made food: spaghetti, salads, pizza, sushi and other goodies.If the previous chain of minimarkets "Amazon Go" focused more on office workers and on-the-job purchases, then the large "Amazon Go Grocery" was created for full-fledged shopping. It is located in a residential area and is surrounded by high-rise buildings. Amazon follows its goal of being closer to people and to their needs, and it succeeds perfectly.

And here's how it all started. The first Amazon Go store appeared in Seattle two years ago, and although it was quite small, it was able to surprise customers with the full automation of the process and the absence of cashiers and checkout lanes.