Amazon has announced that it will discontinue its “Just Walk Out” technology in its Fresh grocery stores across the United States. The high-tech system, which utilized cameras, sensors, and human monitoring to enable customers to shop without interacting with a cashier, was intended to revolutionize the shopping experience.
However, despite its advanced nature, the Just Walk Out system still required significant human involvement. Reports indicated that over 1,000 people in India were tasked with scanning camera feeds to ensure that customers were accurately checking out. This reliance on human labor presented challenges for Amazon and made it difficult to scale up the technology across multiple locations.
Furthermore, legal implications of the technology also posed challenges for Amazon. A class action suit in New York accused the company of collecting biometric identifier information without proper disclosure to consumers. This violation of the state’s Biometric Identifier Information Law necessitated a reevaluation of the technology and its implementation in stores.
In light of these challenges and issues, Amazon has decided to remove the Just Walk Out technology from its Fresh grocery stores entirely. The decision comes as a result of an ongoing evaluation of the technology and its feasibility for scaling up across multiple locations. For now, Amazon will be returning to more traditional checkout methods at its grocery stores.
The removal of this technology marks a shift away from Amazon’s initial push towards self-checkout solutions and highlights the importance of balancing technological advancements with practical considerations when implementing new technologies in retail environments.
