Last week Amazon, the world‘s leading online retailer, showed off its ambitions to conquer the physical retail space by introducing Amazon Go, a store concept that will use computer vision and machine learning to let customers pick up what they need and leave the store without going through a checkout process. The technology will track the items a customer is picking up and charge them to his or her Amazon account after leaving the store.
What may sound like a vision of the possible future of grocery stores is in fact already operational in a store located on Amazon’s campus in Seattle. While still in beta phase and open only to employees, Amazon expects the store to open its doors to the general public in 2017.
While intrigued by the concept, American consumers have yet to be convinced that Amazon Go will actually make things easier for customers. As our chart, based on YouGov data, illustrates, the majority of U.S. adults trust Amazon’s technology and would be willing to try it out. However, they are not ready to pay a premium for a checkout-free shopping experience, afraid that it might actually create more problems than it will solve.
This chart shows what American adults think about Amazon's new store concept Amazon Go.