Amazon To Sell Technology Behind Grab-And-Go Stores To Other Retailers

Amazon.com Inc.AMZN will sell the technology behind its grab-and-go stores to other retailers, the e-commerce giant told Reuters on Monday.

What Happened

The Seattle-based company has already signed deals for what it calls "Just Walk Out" technology with multiple customers, a representative told Reuters without naming the retailers.

Amazon will open a website later on Monday, asking other retailers to enquire about the service, per Reuters.

The checkout process for the partners will be slightly different than the one for Amazon's own retail stores called Amazon Go.

The consumers would have to insert a credit card into a turnstile at entry. All items picked by the person would be added to a virtual cart and billed on the credit card at the exit, Reuters noted.

Amazon's vice president of physical retail and technology Dilip Kumar told Reuters that consumer demand would ultimately determine the success of their latest venture.

"Do customers like standing in lines?" Kumar quipped. "This has pretty broad applicability across store sizes, across industries, because it fundamentally tackles a problem of how do you get convenience in physical locations, especially when people are hard-pressed for time."

Why It Matters

Launched publicly in 2018, the Amazon Go stores added further woes for established retailers like Walmart Inc. WMT, Target Corporation TGT, and Costco Wholesale Corporation COST, which have already lost a significant chunk of market share to Amazon's e-commerce platform.

The technology that allows consumers to save the time spent at cashier or self-checkout counters could mean that other retailers remain competitive.

Reuters noted that high demand for the product isn't certain however, considering that others, including AiFi and Grabango, offer similar technology to retailers.

Price Action

Amazon's shares closed 1.19% lower at $1,901.08 on Friday. The shares traded further 0.63% lower at $1,889.10 in the after-hours session.

Photo Credit: Public domain photo via Wikimedia.