Another way to get rid of minimum wage employees and cut costs.
Big business is all for raising the minimum wage. They can afford it and it runs their competition, the small mom-and-pop stores, out of business.
Amazon’s bid to automate the convenience store is finally ready for the public. The company has confirmed that the Amazon Go store attached to its new Seattle headquarters will be open to non-employees on January 22nd, or more than a year later than planned. The premise remains the same. You have to scan in with a smartphone app when you enter the store, but it’s largely friction-free beyond that. A computer vision AI system tracks the items you remove from the shelves, letting you walk out without talking to a cashier or using a self-checkout machine. The only staff you’ll likely see are for ID checking (when buying alcohol) and the kitchen.
Don’t expect to buy everything you’d normally find in a convenience store.Recode likens it to a more elaborate Pret A Manger with ready-to-eat meals as well as drinks, meat, produce, snacks and Amazon’s own meal kits. The main allure, of course, is the speed. You can walk in, grab a veggie wrap and walk out in a matter of seconds.
Via Engadget