April 3 (UPI) — Amazon is walking out on its Just Walk Out cashierless checkout system, opting to use a new shopping cart checkout technology more heavily at its grocery store locations.
The company said Tuesday that it will not implement the technology, that charges customers for items after they have left the store in existing Amazon Fresh locations or new locations it plans to open later this year.
The company will instead opt for Amazon Dash Carts, which register items that are placed in carts as they shop using computer vision and sensors.
Dash Carts are already in use at 13 of Amazon’s 40 Amazon Fresh locations and the remaining stores will transition from Just Walk Out to Dash Cart, Amazon said.
“We’ve invested a lot of time redesigning a number of our Amazon Fresh stores over the last year, offering a better overall shopping experience with more value, convenience and selection — and so far we’ve seen positive results, with higher customer shopping satisfaction scores and increased purchasing,” Amazon spokesperson Carly Golden said.
Golden added the decision to move on form Just Walk Out was also driven by customer feedback.
“We’ve also heard from customers that while they enjoyed the benefit of skipping the checkout line with Just Walk Out, they also wanted the ability to easily find nearby products and deals, view their receipt as they shop, and know how much money they saved while shopping throughout the store,” Golden said.
Amazon said Just Walk Out will still hang out at the more than 130 third-party retailers, such as airports, college stores and cafes that partner with Amazon and use the technology.
