Amazon Halts All New Amazon Fresh Just Walk Out Stores

[BillyGr]

Not seeing this here, but Six Flags in NJ is setting up a small shop in their park, which will be using this Amazon technology (the walk out and be charged for what you took version).

[storewanderer]

I am wondering how many customers they have upset with the pushy subscribe and save program. Not to mention how they strong arm you into those "Prime Trials." They got me on one of those earlier this year, I swear I did not click to accept it, but I got it. I made it worth my while that month.

I try to avoid shopping on Amazon, but those Prime trials certainly come in handy! (I have a couple different Amazon accounts). I just cancel right away after starting the trial so I don't get auto-billed (it will either give you a pro-rated amount if you paid a few bucks for the trial, or it will just cancel on the end date).

I try to avoid them too but run into situations where their service times are faster than other options and need to order. Also sometimes the $25 threshold for free shipping works nicely vs. the $35 at other major retailers. Then as I mess around a little on the site I find some okay deals on some consumable type items usually with odd value coupons attached.

And I have noticed Amazon is quite accurate with its promised delivery/service times. They are early more often than they are later than promised.

I've gotten offers a couple of times to extend the trial for a week for $1.99.

I also thought it was limit 1 free trial per year per account but they started offering me free trials again a month after my 1.99 extension expired.

I wonder if accepting the 1.99 extension somehow overrides the limit of 1 free trial per year per account or if that is a policy I am imagining but isn't the actual policy.

[ClownLoach]

Not seeing this here, but Six Flags in NJ is setting up a small shop in their park, which will be using this Amazon technology (the walk out and be charged for what you took version).

This "Just Walk Out" technology still seems to work best in concession stand type environments with only a hundred SKUs or less. Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle is basically an Amazon showcase and the technology works flawlessly there. The only issue until recently was that they needed to see ID at the entry gate for stands offering alcohol which created a short line, but now if you have enrolled in their palm print reading technology they will update the record to indicate they checked and saw you were over 21. For places like arenas and stadiums where the wait times traditionally have been just plain unreasonable this technology is a game changer. It's as fast as if you were sitting on your couch at home and got up to grab a drink from your fridge. Amazon should be pushing this technology to stadiums, airports, theme parks, arenas, and anywhere else that has obnoxious slow service lines. My observation was that the technology didn't reduce or eliminate jobs either - just moved them to different places while eliminating bottlenecks thus greatly expediting the customer experience. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Climate Pledge Arena sells more food and beverage per visitor than any other arena or stadium in America because of this technology. When I go to a sporting event or concert many times I have wanted to get a beverage or snack but decided not to as I would probably be stuck in a line for half an hour and miss something. At this arena you can get food, beverages or snacks as fast as you can walk and grab them.

For a supermarket with tens of thousands of SKUs it's a disaster and not anywhere near ready for prime time.

[storewanderer]

I suppose it is great they are finding venues where this technology makes sense. Maybe they will actually end up making some money on it.

But as you're saying grocery stores aren't it.. luckily few grocery stores have the technology because I suspect most people who have used this at an Amazon Fresh have a bad attitude about this technology due to the poor experience (such as myself). Based on the bad experience I wouldn't use it again.

[buckguy]

Executive suite rhetoric aside, I always figured that these stores were greenlit because even if they failed, Amazon would learn enough about the tech to make it salable in the future, even if the stores turned out to be tax write-offs, best. Amazon is a tech company interested in logistics not a traditional retailer. No one was really clammering for something like this and it failed, much as the portable scanners in traditional chains never took off.

[norcalriteaidclerk]

The long-rumored but unverified Sunrise Village location is merely listed as 'grocer coming soon' in leasing materials.Construction activity in the prospective space seems relatively minimal in comparison to the future City Sports Club next door.There are unconfirmed rumors that the possible Amazon Fresh lease being reassigned to Whole Foods.Failing that,rather see an ethnic grocer(H-Mart,99 Ranch,Shun Fat,Cardenas,etc.)or a non-grocery retailer take the space than(yawn)yet another Grocery Outlet(never been impressed with them even when visiting a couple locations within the past couple years).

[ClownLoach]

Interesting article.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/07/amazon- ... etter.html

[mjhale]

Seems like Amazon has a lot of good ideas, the just walk out technology for instance, but no cohesive way to put them together into a saleable product or concept. I've always believed in doing one thing very well instead of a bunch of things mediocre.

You can make a lot of different mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you’re too inefficient. -Sam Walton

[ClownLoach]

Seems like Amazon has a lot of good ideas, the just walk out technology for instance, but no cohesive way to put them together into a saleable product or concept. I've always believed in doing one thing very well instead of a bunch of things mediocre.

You can make a lot of different mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you’re too inefficient. -Sam Walton

That quote sums up Amazon perfectly. Yet we know Walmart ironically has forgotten it with their inefficient, dirty, high shrink stores they're operating today. They make much more than "a lot of different mistakes".

[norcalriteaidclerk]

Respective links might be paywalled,but Rancho Mirage appears to have been mothballed while a location planned for Chicago's Six Corners neighborhood has apparently been scrapped entirely.

I must note that interior work for the proposed Citrus Heights location is far from complete(though still ongoing to some extent)and thus no exterior signs are present.Elk Grove remains in a mothballed state,don't know how far along Country Club or Roseville are yet.