Amazon is preparing to introduce automatic checkout technology into large supermarkets. In the fierce competition to completely change the way shopping, Amazon's move is undoubtedly an important milestone. But automated checkout technology has also sparked controversy over Amazon's efforts to eliminate supermarket cashiers. Amazon argues that the company's supermarkets have created thousands of jobs.

The planning documents of a supermarket under construction in Brookfield, Connecticut show Amazon’s ambitions: the dark gray plaque above the entrance of the supermarket is composed of a two-word logo; the supermarket has a pick-up counter for online ordering products and a fresh food counter. Location service area. Planning documents show that this supermarket under construction has 12 access gates, and there are brackets for installing camera arrays on the ceiling. Currently, only Amazon Go, a convenience store owned by Amazon, has similar equipment.

Customers only need to swipe their smartphones at the entrance to enter the supermarket to shop. Cameras, software algorithms and sensors on shelves in the supermarket can track customer behavior in real time. When the customer walks out of the supermarket from the designated gate, the system will automatically check out.

In this regard, it can be seen that Amazon seems to have solved a major technical challenge by developing a "take and go" system that can check out dozens of shoppers at the same time. This kind of automated checkout technology can fully meet the needs of large supermarkets, and the development and operating costs will not be too high. If this breakthrough is successful, Amazon will be far ahead of its competitors. At present, many Amazon competitors are also testing similar camera-based technologies developed by a number of start-up companies. The executives of these companies admitted that it may take another one to two years before they can deploy automated checkout systems in large supermarkets.

The supermarket cashier is one of the most common jobs in the United States. But the promotion of automated checkout technology may provoke criticism, accusing Amazon of trying to eliminate the job of supermarket cashiers. The company has said that the reason why it developed Just Walk Out technology is to facilitate shoppers, rather than deliberately reduce labor costs. Amazon said it has added thousands of jobs since it opened its first fresh supermarket last year.

Amazon declined to comment for this article.

Source: NetEase Technology Report, translated by Google Translate