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Amazon Go is poised to set up shop in the UK

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Amazon is reportedly looking to acquire new locations to introduce its checkout less supermarket to Britain, says The Times.

The retailer is looking for store sites with parameters ranging from 4,000 sq ft and 5,000 sq ft to fit in the size of the Amazon Go store.

The wider retail effect

“The ongoing high-street closures have forced physical retailers to search for unique points of difference in order to survive the relentless online stampede – which is perfectly exemplified by Amazon Go’s trailblazing “checkout less commerce”.  Whilst traditional retailers continue to slug it as they always have  – Amazon changes the game and invent a new playbook,” Rob Cottingham, credit director at Duologi.

He continues: “What does Amazon Go mean for UK retailers? A step-change in expectations. Just as Amazon originally transformed our idea of what it is to shop online, Amazon Go is naturally changing consumer perceptions as to how a high street shopping experience will look, and retailers must adapt accordingly.

“Whether it be through alternative finance options at the till, or even removing the till completely, Amazon Go is normalising the idea of payment-less, at the point of purchase shopping, built on what consumers crave – convenience.”

“While we’re quickly moving towards a cashless society, this doesn’t mean that debit cards will become the de facto payment method. In fact, it’s only a matter of time before we become completely paperless and don’t carry debit or credit cards at all.”

He concludes: “There are more options than ever when making a purchase – for example, mobile payments and applying for credit at the till or via a retailer’s website – and this points towards a society wherein using plastic cards becomes increasingly marginalised. As cash fades into the background, the brands that thrive will be those that can offer customers flexibility in how, when and where they pay for their goods.”

Oyvind Henriksen, chief executive officer & Co-founder at Poq comments: “The cashier-less checkout experience closely mirrors the checkout experience shoppers see on apps and embraces the functionality that apps have to close the gap between online and in-store shopping.”

“We have seen a growing trend towards consumers choosing to shop via mobile app, and retailers not embracing a mobile-led shopping experience could stand to suffer. We work with some of the fastest growing retailers across fast-fashion, homeware and beauty who are seeing an average of 15% uplift in revenue after launching an app. We anticipate a mobile and particularly app-led shopping experience both instore and online will be the future of shopping as we know it.”

Mike Hann, chief commercial officer & co-founder at Poq: “Convenience is everything to modern consumers who will choose app commerce experiences like Amazon Go to make their shopping easier. It’s no longer good enough to ask consumers to use clunky in-store technology without being logged in and personalised. Today’s app savvy consumers want to use their own mobile device that they are familiar with and have trust in storing their payment information and personal preferences within the retailer’s mobile app.”

Amazon Go 

Amazon initially opened doors of its first artificial intelligence-powered Amazon Go store in downtown Seattle to the public, back in January this year.

The supermarket is designed to enable shoppers to use their smartphones to experience checkout-free shopping journey. Customers can download an Amazon Go app to check into the store at a turnstile, and start their shopping.

The retailer’s ’just walk out technology’ uses computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning to detect when products being purchased, as it adds an item into a virtual basket and charges shoppers’ Amazon account.

The retailer ranked Elite in IRUK Top500 research, initially announced the Amazon Go store in December 2017 and said it would open the doors to the public by early 2017. The debut was delayed because of a beta trial, which allowed employees to test out the store for functionality and practicality before it could open to the general public.

But retailers are fighting back – and it can be done without breaking the bank or reinventing the wheel, as we report in How to ’do’ Amazon Go on a budget: 5 practical retail tech solutions


Image: Amazon

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