Amazon just opened a grocery store without a checkout line

[buckytom]

It seems too buggy to me right now, so I voted no.

But when I can take my flying car to the store, I will use it. By then, all of the kinks will have been worked out for sure.

 

[blissful]

It seems too buggy to me right now, so I voted no.

But when I can take my flying car to the store, I will use it. By then, all of the kinks will have been worked out for sure.

When my grocery drone can do my shopping for me, then I'm all in for it. I can't see putting miles on my flying car at this stage. Between the car insurance and the maintenance, with the insurance, well, it takes too much money to get groceries that way. I'll settle for the grocery drone doing my grocery business. I wish.

 

[Cheryl J]

LOL bucky and blissful!

I most likely wouldn't be interested, so I voted no.

I'm retired and have plenty of time on my hands, and I actually like grocery shopping the 'old fashioned' way. I don't mind when the little old white haired lady behind me in line asks me to watch her cart while she gets 'one more thing' she forgot. That happened today. We only have 2 supermarkets here in my small town, and I enjoy leisurely shopping and chatting with people.
I've never even used the self checkout, I see and read about too many headaches from glitches.

I can't see me ever being in that much of a rush and learning even more technology to use this feature. And I don't want an app that dictates or suggests meal kits. JMO.

 

[GotGarlic]

And I don't want an app that dictates or suggests meal kits. JMO.

Where did you get the impression that the app "dictates or suggests meal kits"? The article mentioned that, in the introductory video, they're featured in the store, but it doesn't say anything about the app.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

The self-check-out and I don't play well together...

However, one of the stores I shop partners with a program called "Fetch". It's similar to a grocery store "preferred shopper" card, but along with getting discounts you accumulate rewards to use towards free food. If you participate, you download an app to your phone or tablet (or join on your laptop at home/library, then borrow the store tablet to use while you shop), then scan the UPC of each item you pick up with the device's camera. If there are special additional discounts, or points, they have cards with barcodes by the item that you scan. When you go to check out, you tap the "ready to check out" button on the screen, a full-screen barcode displays, the cashier scans it, and verifies that what you have is what you scanned. Checking out is quick and painless. Since I signed up when the program first started, I've probably earned about $100 in free food. Since I tend to shop sales and loss-leaders most of the time, I've really been able to save on groceries in the last year or so.

 

[medtran49]

There was an article on the Yahoo newsfeed this morning about this being the first step in grocery store job killers. And I can totally see that happening. Look at how banks are doing away with tellers in the banks proper and drive-throughs. That's great if you have direct deposit or machine printed checks, even legible handwritten checks. Unfortunately not everyone does. Craig gets a check periodically from someone who has very poor, on top of teeny tiny handwriting and depositing it in an ATM doesn't work. It gets rejected a week or so down the line when they can't read the picture the ATM takes of the check before it goes off to storage (never to be seen again according to the bank's customer service people).

 

[Cheryl J]

Where did you get the impression that the app "dictates or suggests meal kits"? The article mentioned that, in the introductory video, they're featured in the store, but it doesn't say anything about the app.

I don't know....probably just a combination of random thoughts and wine.

 

[blissful]

I don't know....probably just a combination of random thoughts and wine.

no.

The technology "is amazing," said Phil Lempert, a food marketing expert based in Los Angeles.
He's even more intrigued by the multiple images of "meal kits" show in Amazon's video. These "everything you need to cook a quick, high-quality dinner" kits have become popular, but the economics of delivering them has meant they're difficult to make economically viable. Stores such as Amazon Go may provide a sweet spot for them.

Meal kits and dinner kits are to recipes, as smart phones are to using a brain.

 

[msmofet]

no.


Meal kits and dinner kits are to recipes, as smart phones are to using a brain.

I disagree. I think a meal kit with everything you need to make a meal and directions is perfect for someone new to cooking. Gives them a chance to experiment with cooking without being overwhelmed trying to shop for ingredients that they are unfamiliar with and spending money on large amounts of ingredients they may never use again.

I think it is wonderful for young people to get their feet wet.

 

[GotGarlic]

I disagree. I think a meal kit with everything you need to make a meal and directions is perfect for someone new to cooking. Gives them a chance to experiment with cooking without being overwhelmed trying to shop for ingredients that they are unfamiliar with and spending money on large amounts of ingredients they may never use again.

I think it is wonderful for young people to get their feet wet.

I like the idea. I don't like the waste. Every single ingredient is separately packaged in plastic - every cup of onion, tablespoon of fresh herb and teaspoon of ground spice.

 

[roadfix]

I'm still learning how to cook. I've never tried a meal kit before but sounds like something I can benefit and learn from.

 

[GotGarlic]

I'm still learning how to cook. I've never tried a meal kit before but sounds like something I can benefit and learn from.

Here's a review of the ones that were available last year (don't know if they're all still in business). Read the comments, too. Lots of good info there.

http://www.thekitchn.com/meals-by-m...y-kit-is-right-for-you-product-roundup-215617

 

[CakePoet]

roadfix: I dont have a pacemaker... I and electronics are not good friends, but it seams to get better the older I get. I ones pointed to a old stereo rack and said turn that off and it did by it self....


In Sweden you can buy Dinner bags, 3-5 meals with all you need to make them.

 

[GotGarlic]

Isn't that the truth! And it takes time to find every little glitch. For instance, Jane is shopping and has a big bag full of paid for items, she sets it down to get another bag, and leaves it behind her. Jill comes along and grabs the bag and leaves the store....oops. Jill gets free groceries and Jan doesn't check out her Amazon charges every single time she shops there.

That problem is Jane's carelessness, not a glitch in the system.

 

[GotGarlic]

I don't know....probably just a combination of random thoughts and wine.

 

[GotGarlic]

These are my educated guesses, based on my understanding of how computers, smartphones and geolocation work.

Does this store work with people on Food Stamps?

Not likely. It doesn't seem like food stamp recipients are in their target demographic. I doubt people who use food stamps shop at Whole Foods or eat at Ruth's Criss, either.

If you take a muffin off one shelf and place it back where cereal is sold does it remove if off your shopping total?

Yes.

It uses machine learning, sensors and artificial intelligence to track items customers pick up. These are then added to the virtual cart on their app. If they pick up an item they later decide they don't want, putting it back on the shelf removes it from their cart.

I think the items have to be right near you for them to be in your virtual cart, and if they're not with you when you leave the store, you won't be charged.

If two people remove different priced items in the same spot at the same time will it know what item was properly taken?

Yes. See above.

If you abandon a cart how long before all the products are removed off your order?

If you leave the store without the goods, they will be removed from your cart right away, just like if you put something back on a shelf.

Can you easily jump over the smartphone scanner and get away with it??

I'm going to guess the "scanner" is at the door and there is nothing to jump over, or even point your phone at. Whatever you take out of the store that's tagged with those anti-theft devices like you see at other stores will be charged to your Amazon wallet. Since the idea is that you don't have to actually check out, the action of leaving the store with any items will charge them to your account.

If you bring a kid with you and they take something off the shelf and sneak it into a shopping bag will it know the item was added to the shopping list?

Yes. See above.

If you do not have a credit card or even a bank account you may not have a chance to use this store right?

Right.

You need to have a smartphone just to use the store. Not everyone in the USA uses a smartphone though?

Right. Again, those people aren't in the target demographic. According to the Pew Research Center, 68% of U.S. adults own a smartphone.

 

[Addie]

roadfix: I dont have a pacemaker... I and electronics are not good friends, but it seams to get better the older I get. I ones pointed to a old stereo rack and said turn that off and it did by it self....


In Sweden you can buy Dinner bags, 3-5 meals with all you need to make them.

Don't fret. You are not the only one who can't get along with electronics. My DIL gave this family some great laughs over her battle with something as simple as a remote control. Now it is my turn. My kids want to buy me a laptop. No way. I want a new computer with a tower. And just programs I already know. It is not like I am going back to the working world and need to come up to date.

 

[CharlieD]

I voted yes. By the time they come here to MN, they I'm sure will work out all the bugs and it will be wonderful, or so I hope.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...I and electronics are not good friends, but it seams to get better the older I get. I ones pointed to a old stereo rack and said turn that off and it did by it self...

Check out information on SLIders. Some people believe that there are persons who possess such a strong personal magnetic field that they can affect the function of electronics around them. Someone told me about it when I complained that street lights would go out as I passed under them. They believed in this subject strongly. As for myself, I mostly think it was just bad luck on my part while driving the roadways. *shrug*

 

[ChefsHat]

So scary how tech is taking away jobs. All of the silicon valley CEOS including Musk are proposing something called UBI - universal basic income because there aren't going to be jobs anymore! The tech CEOs know what kind of tech is coming down the pipeline and it will not be kind to workers...