No check out line technology

Amazon has finally done it. Over a decade since IBM ran the commercial about the future when we would be able to shop without a checkout line, Amazon GO stores have finally been introduced. Amazon was founded 22 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrmMk1Myrxc Amazon Go commercial 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob532iEpqk IBM RFID chips commercial 2006

Quote: Pacomartin

Amazon has finally done it. Over a decade since IBM ran the commercial about the future when we would be able to shop without a checkout line, Amazon GO stores have finally been introduced. Amazon was founded 22 years ago.

For some reason I think that IBM commercial is even older.

Ira Levin, author of Pray for Rosemary's Baby, Sliver and No Way to Treat a Lady, also wrote Uni....wherein we were all engulfed by a ubiquitous computer system.

What are our monks on a mountain top in Montana going to do, now?

I never even use the self check out because it puts people out of work.

Quote: Pacomartin

Amazon has finally done it.

Big Brother is charging you.

On the way out, you'll be stuck behind people looking at their phones checking their tab.

You can't pay cash.

If your tab is wrong, is there staff to complain to?

Will the app have coupons?

If you scan the app with a stolen phone....

What if you turn off your phone while shopping? What if you scanned in with someone else's account, then turn off the phone?

Quote: Fleastiff

Ira Levin, author of Pray for Rosemary's Baby, Sliver and No Way to Treat a Lady, also wrote Uni....wherein we were all engulfed by a ubiquitous computer system.

I read his "Boys from Brazil"
Loved it :-)

I think they should do away with all self serve. You should go in a store and hand your list to a store employee, and he returns with your bag of goods. Then you hand him some money. It promotes friendliness and reduces petty theft.

Quote: Pacomartin

I think they should do away with all self serve. You should go in a store and hand your list to a store employee, and he returns with your bag of goods. Then you hand him some money. It promotes friendliness and reduces petty theft.

It drives down sales from impulse buys. It also robs the customer of the joy of browsing and finding new, sometimes better, things.

The other day I found an "organic" sugar-free yogurt I didn't know about. It's got a consistency between regular and Greek, tastes rather good, and it's cheaper than most regular kinds (and much cheaper than all Greek varieties). It's also lowish in fat. It's doubtful I'd have found it if I ordered regular items and couldn't browse the shelves.

Quote: Nareed

The other day I found an "organic" sugar-free yogurt I didn't know about. It's got a consistency between regular and Greek, tastes rather good, and it's cheaper than most regular kinds (and much cheaper than all Greek varieties). It's also lowish in fat.

It's funny you should say that, because I bought that same item this week. I haven't tasted it yet.

I was reading the other day about the little convenience stores in the USA that are often found in large apartment buildings or office buildings (frequently only open during the day). It seems like the stereotypical operator is Asian, and often doesn't speak much English. What I have read is that most Americans expect to pay unusually high prices for the convenience of shopping in stores like that. The operator, who often has an extended family so he pays little or no wages outside his family, can buy into these places for not much money. The profit almost guarantees a livable income, if not necessarily a lavish one. Since most interactions are fairly simple, you can function with only minimal comprehension of English.

Of course, the other traditional economic path to self sufficiency has always been the ethnic restaurant which is dominated by three cuisines in particular.

Top 10 Most Popular Ethnic Cuisines in the United States right now.
Chinese 76%
Mexican 74%
Italian 71%
Japanese or sushi 32%
Greek 32%
French 26%
Thai 24%
Spanish 22%
Indian 19%
Mediterranean 16%

It seems like both these avenues are under threat by the automated purchasing option, and the "ethnic chain" . Out of the 41,000 Chinese restaurants in the USA, about 2000 of them are Panda Express. Of course Panda Express was founded by immigrants; Andrew Cherng and his father are from the Yangzhou region of China's Jiangsu province, while Peggy was born in Burma and raised in Hong Kong. The Cherngs are now billionaires.

Quote: Pacomartin

It's funny you should say that, because I bought that same item this week. I haven't tasted it yet.

I doubt it's the same item, unless a tiny Mexican dairy manufacturer exports tot he US...

Quote:

It seems like both these avenues are under threat by the automated purchasing option, and the "ethnic chain"

Yes and no. I doubt people who need a snack, coffee, a drink, a sandwich, etc. will hunt for an Amazon store if they have a 7-11 nearby.

Restaurants are a more complex thing.