Next year, retail giant Amazon is opening two cashier-less Whole Foods stores in Washington D.C. and Sherman Oaks, California.
The stores will use Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology. Shoppers will scan a QR code in the Amazon or Whole Foods apps before shopping. Cameras and motion sensors are used to track which products are added to their shopping carts. After they are finished shopping, they scan the QR code again and leave the store.
The technology is already being used in Amazon Go convenience stores and Amazon Fresh grocery stores. This will be the first time it is used in Whole Foods, which the retailer bought in 2017. The software is also sold to other retailers.
Critics of cashier-less technology fear it will take away jobs. Amazon said that in addition to the cashier-less technology, the store would be staffed with a number of workers similar to that of existing Whole Foods stores with similar volume. However, the retailer did not provide a specific number.
