With eight stores currently open in London, Amazon Fresh is due to open a ninth store near Richmond station. They are supposedly like your local convenience store, but with a twist: there are no tills.
Designed for speedier shopping, Amazon Fresh shops feature advanced ‘Just Walk Out’ technology to detect when you take or return an item from the shelf. According to a video on their website (amazon.co.uk/freshstore), they use “computer vision, deep learning algorithms and sensor fusion” to create this. The process with this technology is that you scan your personal QR code from the Amazon app, and then enter the store and take all the food you want from the shelves. Then, when you’ve finished shopping, you can leave the shop without paying via tills; instead the amount you have spent will be charged to your Amazon account. I spoke to 14-year-old Srisha Pirabaharan, about her views on this new way of paying: “these shops really show the advancement in shopping” she said; “I think that it’s cool to see a glimpse of what shopping in the future might look like.” However, there are different opinions about whether it is a good idea, and some people are conflicted about how ethical these stores actually are. I spoke to Richmond mum Susan Davey, about what she thought of Amazon Fresh opening stores: “I am concerned about big corporations like Amazon taking over markets like food and drink and competing with companies that have already been struggling in the pandemic; I worry about the impact this might have on independent stores." Amazon Fresh sells everyday groceries like any other supermarket. Their website states that they feature “everything you’d want from your local convenience grocery store including fresh meat, poultry and fish, dairy, fruit and veg and bakery”. Amazon Fresh is due to open soon. When it does, I will make sure to visit to experience it firsthand.
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