Amazon has announced a significant upgrade to its Just Walk Out checkout technology, introducing an advanced AI model designed to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and speed in providing receipts to shoppers.
This updated system, which utilizes the same machine learning models found in generative AI applications, improves upon the previous process by analyzing all inputs simultaneously rather than piece by piece. The new AI model considers data from cameras, shelf sensors, 3-D store models, and product information to determine what shoppers are selecting and ultimately leaving the store with.
With the shift in focus from Amazon’s own stores to third-party integrations, the new AI model streamlines data processing.
According to Jon Jenkins, the vice president of Just Walk Out, all 170 third-party locations currently using the technology will receive the multi-modal system upgrade within the next month. The update “increases the accuracy of Just Walk Out technology even in complex shopping scenarios with variables such as camera obstructions, lighting conditions, and the behavior of other shoppers, while allowing us to simplify the system,” Jenkins stated in a blog post.
This enhancement could make Just Walk Out more appealing to retailers, who have been slow to adopt the technology due to its cost. After initially using the technology in Amazon Go c-stores and Amazon Fresh grocery stores, Amazon began selling Just Walk Out to external companies. Two years ago, the technology was moved from Amazon’s retail division to Amazon Web Services to facilitate these sales, an Amazon spokesperson said.
Despite the improvements, some convenience and grocery companies have preferred less expensive self-checkout kiosks. Amazon itself seemed to pivot away from promoting Just Walk Out in grocery stores, opting instead for its proprietary smart carts, known as Dash Carts in Amazon Fresh locations. Moreover, Whole Foods Market decided earlier this year to remove Just Walk Out from some of its stores.
“If I’m going to go hang out at a large format grocery store for an hour on my weekly shopping trip, maybe something like our Dash Carts make more sense in those cases,” Jenkins explained in an interview.
However, Just Walk Out has found success in high-traffic environments such as stadiums and airports. Hudson, for example, operates 16 locations with the technology, and stadiums like Seattle’s T-Mobile Park and BMO Stadium in Los Angeles have also adopted the system.
Jenkins sees potential for the technology in locations requiring 24-hour service, like hospitals and residential buildings, and in new venues needing a compact retail footprint. Amazon aims to double the number of third-party stores utilizing Just Walk Out this year, Jenkins wrote in the blog post.
“I think we’re just sort of scratching the surface of what’s going to be possible with this sort of high-level type of technology. It’s allowing us to address new types of stores and new verticals,” Jenkins added.
In addition to Just Walk Out, Amazon is also deploying an RFID-powered checkout system in stores where customers like to browse without checking in at a payment station before entering, such as clothing and merchandise shops.
As the Just Walk Out system processes more consumer behavior, it will continue to learn and improve accuracy and efficiency, says Jenkins. Furthermore, the system will enable retailers to install fewer hardware fixtures, ultimately lowering costs. A primary focus for Just Walk Out is improving the return on investment for retailers. Jenkins stated, “It’s definitely our goal to drive costs down so that we can expand the market.”
