Whole Foods Sticking with Traditional Checkout at Daily Shop Locations
Whole Foods Market has decided not to integrate Amazon’s Just Walk Out frictionless checkout technology, at least for the moment. While its parent company, Amazon, is expanding the technology to smaller venues such as airports and stadiums, Whole Foods is keeping with self-checkout and traditional registers in its Daily Shop format.
During a store tour before the inaugural Daily Shop opened, Christina Minardi, Executive Vice President of Growth and Development for Whole Foods and Amazon, explained the decision. The Just Walk Out system proved too restrictive for stores that frequently change displays and store layouts.
“One of the challenges with the technology is that the Daily Shop format is designed to be flexible – we often shift displays,” Minardi stated. She gave an example: a last-minute decision to place mozzarella cheese on an ice bin would be difficult. “All of that has to be mapped… to the cameras, and it takes weeks,” Minardi explained. She added the system was cumbersome in the full-format Whole Foods locations where it was previously available.
The company initially piloted Just Walk Out in two Whole Foods stores but opted to remove it in early April. The company aims to offer a consistent shopping experience throughout its chain, as reported by a spokesperson. The chain continues to offer Amazon One, which enables payment via palm scanning, in all of its U.S. stores. According to Minardi, the Daily Shop format will also include Amazon One.
Just Walk Out remains operational in Amazon Go stores, according to Minardi. Amazon has been improving the AI model behind the technology this year, making it faster and less expensive to use and install. Furthermore, Amazon is focused on implementing Just Walk Out technology in quick-trip retail settings like university campuses, stadiums, airports, and amusement parks.
