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Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

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Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#171

Post by bitxbitxbitcoin »

zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #92

I used to visit one of the NYC the Go stores daily until covid happened. It was cute and surgically clean, worked wonderfully, and their inventory management was much better then CVS and Duane Reade which often sell out of things and have empty shelves for days. But nobody ever went there - no matter what time of the day I went, there would be one person doing inventory and stocking, two people standing by to help pe…

Putting quinoa in everything and assuming the addressable market had more disposable income seems like one of the signs of the last bubble.

Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#172

Post by lotsofpulp »

everdrive wrote: post #98
Nanana909 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't use the app So then why attempt to go to a store that’s entirely based on using the app? The store concept is based around your account - and you didn’t know your account details. The app can help avoid this, but you also refused to use the app. How is this any different than someone who refuses to use their password to sign in to Amazon.com and complains about not being able to submit a return? Or going to…

It's different because there's a long-standing precedent that you don't need to install a smartphone app to use a store.

At Kroger and Albertsons stores, you might be paying a lot more if you do not use the coupons that are only available in the app.

Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#173

Post by hgsgm »

zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #92

I used to visit one of the NYC the Go stores daily until covid happened. It was cute and surgically clean, worked wonderfully, and their inventory management was much better then CVS and Duane Reade which often sell out of things and have empty shelves for days. But nobody ever went there - no matter what time of the day I went, there would be one person doing inventory and stocking, two people standing by to help pe…

What is quinoa put in?

Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#174

Post by wetpaws »

bogomipz wrote: post #144
mabbo wrote: post #115

I hope this doesn't signal the end of the entire business model. I know there are still speed bumps and problems to address, but cashier in a convenience store is one of those awful jobs I don't think anyone should have to do if we can avoid it. I've had plenty of friends and family work those jobs, and briefly did it myself (at a gas station). Often these friends worked overnight, with the risk of being held up at 3…

Cashier jobs are entry level positions. As such they are also a means of advancement to other roles in retail. Countless people started as cashier and worked their way up to roles like customer services, buyer, store manager etc. These jobs are also an opportunity for students to earn money and get work experience. But yes, "Let's destroy this job" simply because you don't like it? Since your profile states you are a…

This is a fallacy imo. The less mundane, mindnumbing and highly automated jobs we have, the better.

There is a reason why for example living human beings do not manually switch phone lines anymore when you make a phone call - you could rationalize it as much as you can, but frankly humans we born for better stuff.

Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#175

Post by ma2rten »

_8j50 wrote: post #36

Amazon is such an anti-human company. From their warehouses to their tech workers they are terrible against people. That said, if people like these stores then good for them. I am honestly shocked and confused when people enjoy this. Or targeted ads or *GPT generated content. I am not anti-tech by any means. Maybe I am just not impressed and awed enough by these technologies to overlook the downsides? I don't support…

The checkout lane at the grocery store is not really the pinnacle of meaningful human interaction.

Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#176

Post by syntheticnature »

Nextgrid wrote: post #140
ddejohn wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not being snarky, I'm genuinely asking. What are the privacy concerns here? That your name is associated with the store you shop at? Wouldn't one also get that from their debit or credit card that most people use to pay for things nowadays?

At least in Europe, you need a suitable legal basis for processing under the GDPR, at least in theory (we do know however that GDPR enforcement is significantly lacking so this might be just a false sense of security as there are no consequences to breaching the regulation). Signing up for a loyalty card would give them that legal basis, where as merely using your payment card wouldn't, so they theoretically shouldn'…

There is exactly one reason why I wish a supermarket would contact me out of the blue: a recall, since they would in theory know what I purchased if I used the card, so no need to first hopefully hear about the recall, then try to figure out if it applies to me.

That said, I've never heard about that as a benefit from a market in the US, just discounts on food items (or put differently, upcharges if you don't use a card).

Not that we have GDPR-level protections here either.

Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#177

Post by rootusrootus »

ddejohn wrote: post #138
joezydeco wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct. It's pretty amazing when it works. I used to try and speedrun the Go store and see how fast it worked. My fastest visit was 9 seconds, receipt was 100% accurate.

Interesting. Another commenter made the point that retail stores already have massive surveillance systems in place, and that it was a good thing that they're being used non-punitively for once. Me, I'm not so sure. I don't think I'd like being reminded that my every movement is being watched. At least when I go to a store, I completely forget about security because I'm, you know, not there to steal something. It doe…

> At least when I go to a store, I completely forget about security because I'm, you know, not there to steal something. It doesn't even cross my mind.

Have you never been to a store that occasionally plays an announcement saying "Security to section 3" or some such nonsense? Those are the best, because that is 100% BS. It's theater, designed to make the people who do shoplift think they're going to be caught. And a lot cheaper than actual security when you're operating a grocery store on tight margins.

Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#178

Post by rootusrootus »

crazygringo wrote: post #39
Someone1234 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In typical stores (e.g. Walmart, Target, etc), most of those cameras housings don't contain cameras. The main issue isn't that cameras are expensive, it is that monitoring that many cameras is expensive/impractical, and automated theft detection systems are still in their infancy. So they just target high value/common areas, and rely on deterrents (like people believing they have a lot of cameras, off-duty cops at th…

> most of those cameras housings don't contain cameras Do you have a source for that? Because at my local grocery store for example, above the customer service area they have a whole wall of TV's showing the live camera feeds. They're all working. My local convenience store has the live TV's too, by the cashier.

> Because at my local grocery store for example, above the customer service area they have a whole wall of TV's showing the live camera feeds.

Right, but is it recording, and does the camera feed go anywhere other than just up to the little monitor showing you the video?

It's like the recording they play once in a while over the PA that says "security to section 3" or whatever. It's theater. Because actual security costs real money and grocery stores are tight margins.

I mostly ignore such things, but Home Depot annoys me. I guess they have a more significant problem with theft, because some aisles have cameras with monitors and a bell that goes DING-DONG when you walk by, just to remind you they think you're a criminal. A few miles away there's even a Home Depot that has a portable tower-of-cameras out in the parking lot with bright lights and flashing blue lights on it, so you can further feel like a criminal. Luckily my local location doesn't feel the need to do that.

Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#179

Post by permo-w »

annexrichmond wrote: post #109
amelius wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The endgame in capitalism is something that is remarkably close to a bureaucratic all-controlling government.

Only if monopolies are allowed to flourish, because, that's what the government basically is - a monopoly on all services for which there's no private counterparts.

does that not seem at all contrived to you?

government is an organisation of humans within a geographical region that work for the benefit of all the other humans within that region. it's as simple as that. it's the exception not the rule for there to be no private competition; unless you live in Cuba, in which case you're describing communism, not government

Re: Amazon is closing its cashierless stores in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle

#180

Post by bogomipz »

wetpaws wrote: post #174
bogomipz wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cashier jobs are entry level positions. As such they are also a means of advancement to other roles in retail. Countless people started as cashier and worked their way up to roles like customer services, buyer, store manager etc. These jobs are also an opportunity for students to earn money and get work experience. But yes, "Let's destroy this job" simply because you don't like it? Since your profile states you are a…

This is a fallacy imo. The less mundane, mindnumbing and highly automated jobs we have, the better. There is a reason why for example living human beings do not manually switch phone lines anymore when you make a phone call - you could rationalize it as much as you can, but frankly humans we born for better stuff.

If you are going to state something is fallacy then you might want to substantiate the fallacy. Instead all you provide is your opinion that the elimination of a class of jobs is for "the better."

What I have stated is that entry level positions are a means of advancement in retail environments. This based on empirical fact.

>"There is a reason why for example living human beings do not manually switch phone lines anymore when you make a phone call"

No, the reason "human beings do not manually switch phone lines anymore" is because the growth of subscriber lines exceeded the capacity for manual switching in Central Offices. It had nothing to do with nature of the job.

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