Recently, Amazon bought Whole Foods. And even before the ink dried, the former has been receiving suggestions on how to run the wholly-owned subsidiary. Notably, Whole Foods customers are used to innovation. Survey results released by ChargeItSpot show that Whole Foods customers are looking forward to the positive changes Amazon can bring. Before long, those changes might include Amazon cashierless store technology for its checkouts.
On Amazon Cashierless Store Technology
In late 2016, Amazon launched its first Amazon Go store. Although it was just a prototype used to test the concept of an Amazon cashierless store technology, customers have already been excited for the buzz. The main selling point or value add of Amazon Go was that it did not have any cashiers. You only needed to be an Amazon member, logging in to the store via a smartphone app.
Since Amazon Go does not have cashiers nor take-out counters. The items you pick up and add to your cart are noted so that you can easily indulge in the stores’ advancements. The customer’s app takes care of everything, including tallying up the purchases and processing payment by the credit card company. So, customers can easily enter the store, find products, and leave just as quickly with what they wanted to get in the store in the first place. Any purchases will be credited on the fly—even if the customer has not yet left the store. This Amazon cashierless store technology experience is responsible for the popularity of Amazon Go.
Amazon Go — Innovation and Convenience
Amazon Go was supposed to be a testbed for the latest in grocery innovations. The store has been very promising and is definitely leading the industry in modernization. Indeed, Amazon has made a statement that Amazon Go will expand further south from Oregon in the following years.
The novelty of Amazon Go is not lost on the Whole Foods customer base. They understand that Amazon can pay $13.7 billion to buy Whole Foods because Amazon has the technical savvy to revolutionize the supermarket industry. With Amazon Go, the user is scanned during the whole time he or she is in the store. Since there is no cashier, sensors and cameras have taken the process of payment and transformed it into an activity integrated with the sensors. And since the customer receives an electronic copy of the bill, he already knows how much he has spent when he leaves the store.
A Survey Done for Whole Foods Customers
When polled, Whole Foods customers want to experience “cashier-free checkouts” provided by the Amazon cashierless store technology. Whole Foods has been introducing improvements in various ways to the supermarket/retail industry for many years. Most notably, they follow different rules in compensation. The company has also been known to adjust to local market conditions in order to provide their customer base with the freshest and certified organic ingredients.
The survey was conducted on 900 customers, and the results pointed to a need for a different customer experience. The main reason why consumers wanted the stores to be without any cashiers is to save time at the checkout counter. The innovation in today’s technology adds immense value for loyal Whole Foods customers.
Beyond Using Amazon Cashierless Store Technology
One of the most radical steps Whole Foods have instituted is to have its stores run as independent corporations. There are 17 regional offices, and each of these locations have enabled them to outsource their products to local producers. This fact is one tenet of sustainability and allows the stores to develop eco-friendly techniques. Buying local means that the produce is made at a short distance from where it will be bought, which leads to fresher ingredients for the customer at home. With such bold strategies in the supermarket industry, Whole Foods and the idea of it applying Amazon cashierless store technology in the future will come as no surprise to its customer base!
