Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

“Just walk out” technology by Amazon

justwalkout.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 769 posts

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#111

Post by HumblyTossed »

I actually like this idea[0]. I have a couple of tweaks I'd like to see.

I'd like to walk in, swipe my CC and get a QR code printout. At any point, I should be able to scan the QR code with my phone and see a receipt showing what I have in my cart and how much it will cost me as well as my status (in/out of the store). Once I leave the store, I should be able to scan the QR and get my final receipt. If there's an issue, I can turn right around and get it resolved.

I don't want to have to deal with going to a kiosk unless I need help.

Also, I don't like that this is an Amazon thing.

[0] As an option. I don't want this to be the way of the future.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#112

Post by mpettitt »

vsskanth wrote: post #56
dapuz wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then with scan-as-you-shop (some shops even have apps, I know Asda does) latency is reduced further, it's only the time to transfer you're already scanned basket and to pay

yeah exactly. I guess I don't understand the marginal improvement in adding so many cameras and advanced processing, all so that you can "just walk out", with the possibility of having to deal with billing related customer service issues.

I wonder if it would be possible to integrate payment into the mobile apps they've already got in place, thereby meaning that the only time you'd need to go to the checkout at all would be if you were buying restricted goods (e.g. age limited, or items with security tags) - the risks would seem then to be tracking whether someone had paid. Maybe have a QR code shown on screen which security staff can scan if they're suspicious, giving a list of what items were purchased?

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#113

Post by grandmczeb »

vsskanth wrote: post #66
reggieband wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love self-checkout and use it when available and reasonable. However, I have seen lines. It feels the same as ATMs for me. Occasionally I am waiting behind someone who just takes forever. I always wonder what they are doing, how it can take what feels like 10 minutes to do what I attempt to get done in 1 minute. Self-checkout is a bottleneck since there are a limited number of available machines. I can see efficien…

I'm surprised many people here mention lines at the self-checkout. I shop in a fairly busy Walmart and I never had to stand in line, even on Saturdays and Sundays. They have like 15 of those counters on each side.

Just curious, where do you live? I stand in line for self check out very frequently in SF/Oakland/Palo Alto.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#114

Post by School-Cotton »

Frost1x wrote: post #64
femiagbabiaka wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if only most of the US labor force didn't rely on jobs in that sector...

A lot of business strategy these days tend to forget that their labor are often their customers in a somewhat symbiotic relationship. This was part of the realization Henry Ford had when developing Ford motors and during the heydays of labor rights. Cut your labor and you strangle your customer base. Now we're seeing a tendency of businesses focusing on more wealthy clients, luxury goods, etc. Some modern mall strate…

Yes but it's a tragedy of the commons / prisoner's dilemma issue. If your store employs 1% of the people in a given area, and therefore also 1% of your customers, you can't prevent the other 99% from laying off their own workforce and affecting you, unless you collude with them somehow. On the other hand, increasing your workers' pay will give you no meaningful sales benefit as it can at most affect that 1%.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#115

Post by baryphonic »

femiagbabiaka wrote: post #92
dekhn wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only manual laborers in 1850s England didn't rely on jobs that were replaced by machines (England went on to be far wealthier and provide far more opportunities to its people after the industrial revolution).

The Industrial Revolution was a terrible period for workers up until the labor movement began fighting for putting basic protections in place. Lots of people got very wealthy though, that's for sure. This view of history as immutable, with the ends always meeting the means is the sort of thinking that I believe is holding us back as a society. Researchers are still studying the impact that the industrial revolution h…

Compared to what? Sure, it was awful compared to working at Google with unlimited snacks and all of that. Compared to being a peasant subsistence farmer, it wasn't so bad.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#116

Post by rjkennedy98 »

dekhn wrote: post #30
femiagbabiaka wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if only most of the US labor force didn't rely on jobs in that sector...

If only manual laborers in 1850s England didn't rely on jobs that were replaced by machines (England went on to be far wealthier and provide far more opportunities to its people after the industrial revolution).

> England went on to be far wealthier and provide far more opportunities to its people after the industrial revolution

To compare this to the Industrial Revolution is just wrong. Period. Just as comparing today to the Gilded Age is wrong. Those were period of massive productivity growth (and also wage growth) despite being periods of high inequality.

On the contrary, we are in an age of tiny productivity growth and almost no wage growth. We have been through a decade with basically zero interest rates (or negative interest rates in parts of the world). To say, we've been through this before and we are all going to be better off for it, is just not true.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#117

Post by londons_explore »

buttersbrian wrote: post #20
Spivak wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does this really change anything compared to every other POS system that you swipe your credit card into and get your receipt sent to your email?

But i have an option to get it printed right there and NOT give them my email, or phone number.

I would guess even in these amazon stores you'll have the option to print a paper receipt right away.

There are probably laws requiring it in some places round the world, there are probably customers who want it, it speeds up the process by not requiring an email address to be typed in, and the total cost of a receipt printer is tiny.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#118

Post by SamuelAdams »

stronglikedan wrote: post #99
nck4222 wrote: post #63

My biggest problem with this is that from what I can tell, the only way to know how much you're going to be automatically charged (as well as what items the tech thinks you're purchasing), is to go to a kiosk in the store and get a receipt. Which seems to completely defeat the convenience of just walking out in the first place. I wouldn't feel comfortable just walking out without knowing how much I'm going to be char…

I'm sure the items have posted prices, so it would really be simple math that could be done in one's head.

In the United States taxes are not included on the sticker price. As a result adding up the total price of a purchase can be tricky.

However, I don't think this technology will be used extensively by people who purchase a large quantity of products at a time. Instead, this will be catered to the times when someone needs to pick up 5 or less things at a store. In this instance, these customers are not typically price-sensitive about what they need.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#119

Post by ForHackernews »

txcwpalpha wrote: post #86
JohnFen wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was not commenting on the thing that the quote was intending to talk about. I was commenting on the privacy implications of what it actually said. From a privacy point of view, you may as well sign up for an account or install an app -- that's a problem for those of us who wouldn't sign up for an account or install an app due to security concerns.

>I was not commenting on the thing that the quote was intending to talk about. Exactly, and that's the definition of a strawman. Again, I do agree with your larger points about privacy, but the presentation of your argument rubbed me the wrong way.

It absolutely is not the definition of a strawman.

Reading between the lines of marketing (or any text, really) is an important element of critical thinking. There's no rule that says I have to only talk about what your commercial wants me to talk about.

Are you really suggesting we should just uncritically nod along with whatever facile ideas are fed to us by an advert? <-- (Psst...this is actually a strawman)

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#120

Post by [deleted] »

vsskanth wrote: post #17

In terms of cost-convenience trade-off, can someone tell me how is this better for a store when compared to self-checkout counters or scan-as-you-go apps (as suggested below) ? I use these frequently at Walmart and Sams without any problems. Rarely have to deal with an actual checkout person unless I have to get a gift card. IMO you can get very far simply addressing annoying latency and UX issues with self checkout…

[deleted]
Post reply on HN