Amazon trials checkout-free food store

Monday, April 3, 2017 - 12:23 by Mike Price

A drive through grocery experience is being offered in a small scale trial by e-commerce giant Amazon, enabling customers to order food online and pick it up in person without having to pass through a checkout or even get out of their cars.

The Independent reports that a pair of bricks and mortar outlets have been opened in the US city of Seattle to accommodate this scheme, with the Amazon Fresh Pickup moniker used for each.

People who place an online order through Amazon’s site or mobile app will then simply be able to drive to the outlets, at which point employees will place all of the pre-bagged goods they selected into the boot of their car, enabling them to drive away almost immediately.

This mirrors the kind of click and collect delivery options which have become so popular in the UK, especially amongst consumers who want to get their weekly food shop out of the way, without having to wander around endless aisles looking for the items they need.

Late last year Amazon announced plans to create convenience stores without employees or checkouts, enabling people to wander in, take what they want and then leave, with their accounts automatically being charged based on what they add to their basket.

This new drive through approach is different and requires more manpower, but is likely to be more consistent, since the tech underpinning its convenience stores is still in its early stages of development and cannot handle large numbers of customers at the same time, unlike shopping online.

If this scheme is a success then it could spread across the US and on to the UK, where Amazon is already making inroads into the grocery marketplace and intending to compete with established supermarkets for a slice of this lucrative pie.