Amazon to eliminate checkout lines at grocery store

Amazon.com Inc. unveiled technology that will let shoppers grab groceries without having to scan and pay for them, in one stroke eliminating the checkout line. The company is testing the new system at what it’s calling an Amazon Go store in Seattle, which will open to the public early next year. Customers will be able to scan their phones at the entrance using a new Amazon Go mobile app. Then the technology will track what items they pick up or even return to the shelves and add them to a virtual shopping cart in real time, according a video Amazon posted on YouTube. Once the customers exit the store, they will be charged on their Amazon account automatically. The concept store and automated checkout mark Amazon’s latest attempt to upend the grocery business. The company began experimenting with fresh food in 2007, when it started AmazonFresh, a delivery service now active in 16 US markets. Amazon has since started opening pickup centers where shoppers can fetch their web purchases. Perhaps recognising that many people remain reluctant to purchase fresh food online, sight unseen, the company is now testing what looks a lot like a convenience store. So, if the Amazon Go concept works, will the company build small grocery stores in cities all over the country? Amazon isn’t saying. (Jing Cao/Bloomberg)