How Amazon Is Trying To Get Rid Of Checkout Lines At Stores

When Amazon first launched its "Just Walk Out" cashierless checkout solution in 2018, analysts say it had the potential to revolutionize retail. But in April, Amazon pulled the tech from Whole Foods and its U.S. line of Fresh grocery stores. Instead, Amazon focused on selling it to outsiders and installed it in 200 third-party stores in NFL stadiums, arenas, colleges, airports and more. CNBC got the first on-camera tour of the lab used to develop the tech and its new "multi-modal" AI system.

Chapters:
1:43 Exiting U.S. grocery
5:03 Cameras, sensors and AI
8:10 Concerns and cost

Produced and Shot by: Katie Tarasov
Edited by: Evan Lee Miller
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Animation: Christina Locopo, Jason Reginato
Additional reporting: Annie Palmer
Additional Footage: Amazon, Getty Images

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How Amazon Is Trying To Get Rid Of Checkout Lines At Stores

[jobarmure]

Did the documentary just forget to tell that Amazon " hired Indians to do the job " and lied about AI is doing the job...

[LetsUnpack]

It takes "tens of minutes" to send you a receipt because someone is entering the data manually. :)

[frontlockout]

Real cashiers are somewhere in MUMBAI watching what you buy over cameras😌

[kibble-net]

I'll continue shopping at ALDI thank you very much

[JhaveriAakash]

This really feels like an ad... No mention of the Indian controversy, no mention of the setbacks, no mention of costs...

[beecher]

California has had "just walk out" since 2014 when shoplifting was changed to a misdemeanor. :)

[clemrivers]

One issue that this news story fails to address is pushback from local politicians who pass laws requiring that the store accepts cash for payment so as not to "discriminate" against people who don't have credit or debit cards, such as the homeless.

[Mcboooof]

Anybody else see that $18 beer and cry a little?

[Xamry]

Being a cashier is a get entry level job to teach you how to deal with people. This is only gonna exacerbate people being assholes since they’re literally not practicing basic social skills

[kino]

I guess Amazon trying to hire entire India.

[jh]

The India offshore workers that'll be watching customers for who took what for charging them will really like using these new tech items to aid them in their job.

[hudsonfrank]

Ai cameras are not perfect. Our local amazon store is very inacruate. You spend more time on the help line fixing inaccurate orders than you do ease of convienence. You need to be careful of piggy backers that walk up grab an item (system charges it to you). Another issue with this system is if someone requests you to grab an item off the shelf (uses an excuse) then you hand it to them out of courtesy; the system charges it to your card. (not convienient.)

I tried our fresh store when it first came and had more issues ofit not charging correctly and amazon is aware of this. Even a local x-manager quoted this on a google review stating how the system was full of bugs, holes and errors.

There's a lot of shoppers that do not have amazon accounts and know how to fruad the system. Amazon looses millions to theft and because there's no one to stop them they can't do squat about it unless their theft amt tallies to the dollar amount in which they can do anything about it and that amt is so high they technically can not do anything about it.

[shinyshinythings]

The title should not say “checkout lines”, but “checkout staff”. We all know this is not for customers’ convenience.

[LiabilityDiscourse]

These companies are fostering impatience amongst us and increasing their bottom lines. Lets stand on lines again for the sake of us.

[philipjdry]

We should protest this and the best way to do it is by walk out

[ser-hanga]

Amazon is such a humble company, with all the good this system is doing, they left out all the jobs in India and the families being supported .
Wow❤❤

[ericmci]

This tech has been debunked and Amazon Go stores in America have closed. Is this an old story that got accidentally released?

[jonatanrullman]

I am 40 and I think I can count on my fingers the number of times I've had to stand in line when grocery shopping over the last 20 years. This problem has essentially been solved since the 90s.

[coolguy]

4:44 I can't post links in YouTube comments, but today there's a TechCrunch article "Amazon closes more of its cashierless convenience stores"

CNBC is spewing outdated info.

[danielmcguire]

This video completely ignores the human exploitation of Indian workers. It’s not AI, it’s a way of outsourcing cheaper labour.