Amazon's retail ambitions are advancing quickly. As we've reported in the past, the company is opening up new brick-and-mortar stores at an alarming rate. However, their stores aren't just standard markets - they take Amazon's approach to convenient shopping to the next level.
The company's "Go" stores are the best example of that. The shops are entirely cashier-free, and determine what customers are buying using an array of cameras, as well as machine learning tech.
It seems a business model like that is becoming pretty appealing to other major physical retail chains. Walmart has reportedly partnered up with Microsoft to develop store tech that utilizes similar technology, and now 7-Eleven is following suit; sort of.
As reported by The Verge, 7-Eleven plans to install "scan-and-go" shopping systems in 14 of its Dallas stores this week. Apparently, customers can simply pick up select items, scan the barcode, pay through their phone, and leave; there is no need to wait in line or even speak to another human being.
As previously stated, this is just a test right now. There's no guarantee that 7-Eleven will actually ditch its cashiers anytime soon; particularly not while it continues to serve age-restricted beverages and drugs. For now, this scan-and-go system is purely serving as an augmentation to its current way of handling customers. Furthermore, there's a catch: customers who want to use the new shopping method will need to have 7-Eleven's rewards app.
We'll have to see how well this experiment works out for 7-Eleven in the coming months, but if it's successful, the company will likely roll out barcode-scanning shopping to additional store locations.
Image courtesy Getty Images via The Verge