Amazon Introduces Consumer Surveillance Technology to Full-Size Grocery Stores

Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology, which eliminated cashiers in its Amazon Go convenience stores, has now been integrated into a full-size 25,000 square foot Amazon Fresh grocery store for the first time. The system uses camera surveillance, pressure-sensitive shelves, and biometric data to charge customers for items they put in their carts.

The Verge reports that e-commerce and tech giant Amazon is integrating its Just Walk Out retail shopping tech in a full-size grocery store for the first time. According to an announcement from Amazon, the new 25,000 square foot Amazon Fresh store is significantly larger than the 10,400 square foot Amazon Go Grocery store it opened last year, or its standard 1,200 and 2,300 square feet Go convenience stores.

The new store will be Amazon’s fourteenth Fresh location in the United States when it opens on June 17 in Bellevue, Washington. When Amazon previously opened a 35,000 square foot Amazon Fresh store last year using its Dash Carts, it prompted speculation that the company’s Just Walk Out technology might not be a viable option for larger stores.

But Amazon has always claimed that Just Walk Out can scale up to stores of any size, using a series of overhead cameras and pressure-sensitive shelves to determine what shoppers put in their carts. Amazon’s vice president of Physical Retail and Technology, Dilip Kumar, commented:

Bringing Just Walk Out technology to a full-size grocery space with the Amazon Fresh store in Bellevue showcases the technology’s continued ability to scale and adapt to new environments and selection.

I’m thrilled it’ll help even more customers enjoy an easier and faster way to shop and can’t wait to get their feedback on this latest Just Walk Out offering.

Amazon says that when customers arrive at the new store in Bellevue, Washington, they’ll be prompted to pick a checkout option and that traditional checkouts will still be available when customers need them. If customers choose to use the Just Walk Out technology, they can enter the store by scanning a QR code in the Amazon app, inserting a linked credit or debit card, or scanning their palm. They are automatically billed for the items in their cart once they leave the store.