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“Just walk out” technology by Amazon

justwalkout.com

211–220 of 769 posts

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#211
post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm more concerned about whether the store system gets my order right than whether I do. What if it, e.g., mistakes a can of soda for a 12-pack? Three hundred times on the order?

That would be very unlikely and easily reversed based on video data.

>That would be very unlikely

Would it?

>easily reversed based on video data

That suggests a level of effort from multiple parties well in excess of the typical "look at item; look at receipt"

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#213
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’d expect amazon to email you a receipt with an easy way to dispute payments. I realize this is not the same as seeing the aggregate cost at the time of purchase but I’m skeptical this alone will create lots of friction in ppl adopting this.

To me, the biggest thing that has kept me from trying it is that I need to open my app and scan a QR code. Looks like they’re addressing this by left you swipe your card.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#214
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…

Those seemingly horrible jobs were better than what they had before. You can tell because people voted with their feet. They left their farms to take those jobs, and didn't go back.

Something similar plays out with "sweatshop labor" these days. People talk about the abuses, but there's often the same flow of people from the countryside lining up for the openings.

That's not to say that stopping stupid abuses and unsafe conditions isn't important, it's just important to keep in mind how bad things often were. Simply having a job with a salary that guaranteed you wouldn't starve was a huge improvement for some people.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#215
post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the "lame - no wireless, less space than a nomad" take. Are the prices not listed on the individual items? Purchasers make decisions on a product by product basis, not based on the total. How often are you at the checkout and say "Wait, HOW MUCH is my bill? never mind then, going to go put some things back." Sure, it happens, but it's a 0.0001% use case. edit: OK, fair play to everyone who responded and said…

I was a cashier in college for several years. Your scenario happens far more than 0.0001% of the case. It's fairly common amongst poor people. Then there are items that aren't acceptable for use by food stamps and must be paid for separately. Then there is WIK and trying return WIK items for cash refunds. You also have people who misread the labels. Then there are items that aren't in the right place and the label sa…

Hopefully the same tech used to measure when someone takes or replaces something on the shelf can be used to monitor when stuff is in the wrong spot, making stocking easier.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#216
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The information revolution appears to be having the opposite effect, with massive productivity gains resulting in fewer employees needed. One of the outcomes of this is that parts of the country have been 'left behind' economically. This isn't only in England, but happening in other countries too (e.g. the USA). The surge in 'nostalgic'[0] voting (Brexit and MAGA spring to mind, respectively) is one of the outcomes o…

I think in the short term, the information revolution appears similar to the industrial revolution: a category of jobs become obsolete, but long term, the economy grows, and adds many more categories of jobs.

> but long term, the economy grows, and adds many more categories of jobs.

Perhaps, but if history is any guide, that "long term" will span over multiple generations. That is of no help to those being hurt now.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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-…

The cash registers at a normal store has to calculate the tax on items, so I don't see why this would be very hard for other computer systems to do. It will know where you are.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the "lame - no wireless, less space than a nomad" take. Are the prices not listed on the individual items? Purchasers make decisions on a product by product basis, not based on the total. How often are you at the checkout and say "Wait, HOW MUCH is my bill? never mind then, going to go put some things back." Sure, it happens, but it's a 0.0001% use case. edit: OK, fair play to everyone who responded and said…

I'm more concerned about whether the store system gets my order right than whether I do. What if it, e.g., mistakes a can of soda for a 12-pack? Three hundred times on the order?

FWIW, I've been using Amazon Go stores regularly for a while and have never had any issues.

There's a link to dispute the receipt should something happen, right on the receipt itself. Now this is specifically Amazon Go app, but I would expect it to be same for other retailers.

Edit: I see that this is a little bit different than Go stores. It's far less convenient, but you can still get the receipt in your email by visiting a kiosk it seems.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#220
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…

This is the "lame - no wireless, less space than a nomad" take. Are the prices not listed on the individual items? Purchasers make decisions on a product by product basis, not based on the total. How often are you at the checkout and say "Wait, HOW MUCH is my bill? never mind then, going to go put some things back." Sure, it happens, but it's a 0.0001% use case. edit: OK, fair play to everyone who responded and said…

Are you in the US? Because in the US it happens more often than elsewhere because you can't actually know the full price until you check out due to taxes not being included in the price on the box/shelf. Plus, especially with groceries, some items are taxed and some aren't in some states.
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