Dec 6, 2016
High-Tech ShoppingBy Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

We hear that brick and mortar retail is changing all the time, and it’s our jobs to figure out what customers are responding to.

I became aware of a new grocery store concept by Amazon as I flipped on the TV last week. Shoppers with a smartphone and the free Amazon Go app can simply walk into the store, pick up the items they want and walk out.

According to Amazon Go, it is computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning that read when you take an item from the shelf or return it. You’re then charged once you leave the store.

Currently, the pilot location is in Seattle, Washington, but the company plans to open more in the coming years. See the concept in action with this Today Show video.

The Amazon Go model completely eliminates checkouts, which we know long lines can be the largest deterrent to making a sale. It, however, also raises other questions such as: what will happen to the large number of retail cashier jobs?

My greatest takeaway is that brick and mortar retail has something very valuable that online shopping does not.

Of course we believe this is the case, but when the country’s largest online retailer continues to explore the space with physical stores (first a bookstore and now this grocery store), it further justifies this as a reality.

What do you make of the Amazon Go concept? Not that this will be implemented in garden centers tomorrow, but do you think your customers would respond well to the use of these technologies or not really?

Let me know at [email protected].

New to the Game

Is your garden center fairly new (within the last five years), or have you opened new locations to the existing business in that timeframe? I want to hear from you for an upcoming issue of Lawn & Garden Retailer. Shoot me an email at [email protected].

Cheers,

Abby


Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

Abby (Kleckler) McGarry is the managing editor of Lawn & Garden Retailer. Contact her at [email protected].