After two years of running its own cashierless “ Amazon Go ” stores, Amazon now wants other retailers to start using the tech. The “ Just Walk Out ” service, which launched this week, lets retailers equip their stores with cameras, weight sensors, and other technology to detect what people grab from the shelves. Shoppers scan a credit card when they enter the store, and the system automatically bills them for each item when they exit, with an optional kiosk allowing them to enter an email address for receipts. It’s unclear what size of stores Amazon is targeting, but the company says it’s ideal for places where customers are in a rush and have long lines. The company told Reuters that it has “several” unnamed retail customers on board already. If Just Walk Out takes off, it could upend the entire brick-and-mortar retail system even without shifting ever-greater amounts of shopping online . Yet in announcing the new program, Amazon has chosen not to discuss many fundamental issues, such as how it’ll affect jobs and what it will do with all the data it collects. The company declined to answer most questions for this story, instead referring to a brief question-and-answer section on its website . Will Just Walk Out stores accept cash? Although Amazon says it can retrofit existing stores with its tech, the company isn’t saying whether those stores could (or should) continue to accept cash
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Amazon is selling its no-checkout tech to other stores, and we have questions