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“Just walk out” technology by Amazon

justwalkout.com

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Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#521

Post by mikem170 »

filoleg wrote: post #445
danShumway wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, and I know I'm apparently in a minority here... I don't want an app for my grocery store. I do my shopping spread between 4 different grocery stores depending where in the area I'm closest to, what specifically I need, etc.. and I don't want an app for any of them. I already get pestered about loyalty cards, now I'm going to get pestered about installing my local Rite-Aid's mobile app?

It doesn't even need to be a special app, it could just be another Apple Wallet/Android Wallet card. If you tried the Amazon Go app, it is literally just an app that displays a QR code that you use to scan when entering the store. That's literally it, no notifications, no other extra functionality, nothing. As soon as Apple Wallet/Android Wallet integrate it, it will become even more seamless. A good example for peop…

A QR code can be displayed as a saved image. The Amazon Go app on Android requires the following permissions:

  Identity
      find accounts on the device
      add or remove accounts

  Contacts
      find accounts on the device

  Location
      approximate location (network-based)
      precise location (GPS and network-based)

  Wi-Fi connection information
      view Wi-Fi connections

  Other
      receive data from Internet
      view network connections
      create accounts and set passwords
      full network access
      run at startup
      use accounts on the device
      control vibration
      prevent device from sleeping
That's actually not as bad as some other apps, but horribly insecure from my perspective. I avoid all such apps myself, and will do so as long as I can. I'll never know what an app like that is doing, and that is unacceptable on MY phone.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#522

Post by DenseComet »

bspammer wrote: post #507
chipperyman573 wrote: post #296

This post looked kind of weird to me so I looked up the whois, it's registered to godaddy. Which is odd because it is not the same registrar as amazon.com or aws, and aws operates a domain registration service so I can't imagine a real amazon service would use godaddy. Combined with the fact that there's no concrete plans set in place, it seems really fake.

The certificate is signed by Amazon.

Aren't certificates issued on AWS signed by Amazon?

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#523

Post by banana_giraffe »

nexuist wrote: post #475

Wait, how does this even work? You can just walk in with any regular credit card and they can read all the information they need to charge you completely over the air? Isn't that a huge security problem?

Given how vague they are about the entry process, I'm sure customers will be expected to use a credit card on the entry device to open it.

This is like how the Amazon Go stores require you to scan a QR code from your phone to get in the store.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#524

Post by wott »

notJim wrote: post #326
Crazyontap wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah with all the innovation it indeed seems like we are living in a fairy tale. 20 years ago it would be impossible to think that you can order stuff from an unknown location/seller using a piece of glass. And soon we'll have drones coming to our house with packages.

20 years ago was the year 2000. Amazon and eBay were founded in 1995. Also: imagine you could write what you want on a ground up dead tree, drop it in a special box and a few weeks later, the item shows up. That's a catalog, and Sears was making them in the late 1800s. I bet there are older examples.

> imagine you could write what you want on a ground up dead tree, drop it in a special box

And then, later, we could also order by phone and credit card, just giving our card number over the phone (since we didn't expect to be dealing with or be surrounded by assholes, like nowadays on the IoA) and getting the items after a few days (since the standard Post was better organised than the pitiful mess it has become now).

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#525

Post by optimuspaul »

turc1656 wrote: post #294
heavenlyblue wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are only good because Ebay is pathetically bad.

They're only good because they were repeatedly given an infinite amount of money for 2 decades by investors while their retail operations lost money so that they could nail the implementation and the promise that they would figure out how to make it profitable.

They only lose money on paper. Pouring all the returns back into the business is a very sound business plan.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#526

Post by Keverw »

stok3d wrote: post #469

I wonder how this "who has what in their virtual shopping carts" tech holds up when customers get into a brawl over toilet paper.

Yeah I can think of plenty edge cases for something like this but it's a neat idea in theory.

I was wondering how it'd handle someone using a prepaid card or a credit card without enough credit left on it... Like some first credit cards might be as low as like 500 so if people bought other things also could see some people getting close... Does it contact you to pay up if some reason it couldn't charge you fully or is there some sort of indicator before you walk out?

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#527

Post by tialaramex »

disgruntledphd2 wrote: post #315
samatman wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely, large swaths of the population can't do simple mental arithmetic like this at all. The US system discriminates against those people, no denying it. That said, I'm sure our European friends are absolutely drooling at the thought of a 7% VAT...

It's just part of the price, you don't really notice. Like I do sometimes, but then I consider VAT policy somewhat interesting, in that it specifies the "essentials" (VAT is not charged on these) of what a tax authority thinks one should have. But most Europeans tend not to think about it on a daily basis, because it's baked into the price.

Legally VAT isn't about essentials, although luxury taxes which pre-dated VAT were often specified this way.

VAT is just a tax on Value Added like it says, and the exclusions targeting items you see as essential aren't focused on somebody's idea of what's essential but are the result of various lobbying. That is, it was not the goal of the tax system to encourage petite women to buy clothes intended for children nor to punish the largest children (or their parents) with more expensive clothes that's just the consequence of a lobbied-for exemption for kid sizes.

So "But it's an essential" is a useful emotional tactic but has no legal implications for VAT.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#528

Post by derefr »

sarah180 wrote: post #309
MattDamonSpace wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. I've been sitting here thinking Amazon was going to spool up tons of retail locations that leveraged their tech to create a massive moat that other Brick & Mortars couldn't possibly compete with. In hindsight it seems obvious that the play was to "AWS" the whole thing: make yourself the first/best customer, nail the implementation, then sell it to the world.

It's hard to imagine Amazon actually starting a bunch of retail locations. They'd probably buy Whole Foods or something…

Surprising to me that Whole Foods still doesn't have this tech integrated. You'd think that'd be the "beta" step after the Amazon Store's "alpha" step.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#529

Post by jshevek »

x0 wrote: post #479
ben174 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how often do you stop your checkout clerk and tell them to stop scanning because you've exceeded N number of dollars? Once you've pulled your cart up to the checkout line, I'm betting you've most likely settled on what you want to buy.

I don't want to say the "p" word and spark a huge social justice flame war, but a lot of comments in this thread are so obviously speaking from a place of financial advantage. In response to your comment in particular, yes, I have done that. Not often, but it has happened often enough, and only a few dollars each time. Do you think people whip out Excel and keep a running tally of every item in their carts?

"A place of financial advantage" is a more specific and useful characterization, anyway.

Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon

#530

Post by ehsankia »

inkaudio wrote: post #425
boublepop wrote: post #246

Aaaand there’s the play. Amazon wasn’t trying to compete with other retails stores by leveraging their tech edge, they were positioning themselves to becoming the single provider of retail checkout solutions for the future. You either opt-in to giving Amazon all your retail data, or you become the only old fashioned “wait in line to get served” store on the street. And where is the competition? Is there anyone at all…

There are number of tech companies directly competing in this space: https://standard.ai/ https://grabango.com/ https://www.getzippin.com/ https://www.v7labs.com/retail https://www.getzippin.com/ There are competitive options, if you’re in retail you do not have to give Amazon all your “retail data” or use their tech.

nit: You posted getzippin twice

I do love how the very first banner video standard.ai shows is how one person passes an item to another. I'm curious to see all the edge cases Amazon Go ran into over the year or two they ran. I can see a lot of messy cases like that coming up.

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