Amazon’s cashierless convenience stores are moving to the ‘burbs.
The partially automated shops, primarily found in busy city centers, will soon serve customers in suburban areas—starting about half an hour north of Amazon’s Seattle HQ in Mill Creek, Wash.
Introduced in 2016, Amazon Go stores ask visitors to scan a corresponding smartphone app on their way in, then grab what they need and walk out without stepping near a register. Anything you pick up off the shelf is automatically added to a virtual cart, tallied, and charged to your associated Amazon account.
The same goes for Mill Creek’s new location, where computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning help create a checkout-free shopping experience. A second store is reportedly set to open later in the Los Angeles area.
“We think local residents and commuters will enjoy the ease of our Just Walk Out Shopping to quickly and conveniently shop from an expanded selection of tasty, ready-to-eat food items and grab-and-go beverages and snacks in their own neighborhood,” Amazon said in a statement to USA TodayUSA Today.
The tech firm currently operates 27 Amazon Go stores across the US—mostly in metropolitan areas like Chicago, San Francisco, and New York—plus 15 more in London (branded as Amazon Fresh).
In November, Starbucks and Amazon teamed up to open a joint coffee house-and-grocery store on New York’s 59th Street, where folks can grab a hot drink and stock up on kitchen essentials without having to stop and pay on the way out.
Amazon did not immediately respond to PCMag’s request for comment.
