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Amazon Go

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Re: Amazon Go

#631

Post by anotheryou »

delegate wrote: post #387

Look, I know this might not be a popular view here on HN, but I think this is useless. And bad. I'm not talking about the technology behind it (I think it's an amazing achievement).. I live in Barcelona and I have at least 5 medium-sized supermarkets within 5 minutes walking distance from my home. Plus there are several smaller shops that sell fruits and vegetables. I know all the people who work in these supermarket…

Less work would be good if there wasn't capitalism. I already self-checkout in some supermarkets and it's alright.

If it where not for capitalism I'd rather self-checkout then have someone serve me and waste 1m of lifetime per visit to the supermarket.

Re: Amazon Go

#632

Post by dimino »

jedberg wrote: post #554

I suspect during the beta they've asked their employees to try and steal things amd move things to the wrong place -- really push the software. At least I hope they did. I assume they are going into this expecting a loss while they work out the kinks.

Based on comments in here, one would suspect they implemented this entire thing without trying to break it even once.

Re: Amazon Go

#633

Post by mpolichette »

makecheck wrote: post #294
0xfeba wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm sorry but if you cost the store $25 by leaving a damned ROAST in the cereal aisle, I would be perfectly happy to never let you in the store again. Wouldn't a better solution be to charge the customer for the roast and if they complain, you explain: "sorry, you didn't put it on the proper shelf, the technology considers that as a purchase", and possibly eat the cost in the form of some incentive to come back to…

Aside from putting up the odd sign to discourage certain behavior, no, I do not think that stores have any good reason to bend over backwards to keep individual customers. Retail is far too accommodating already. Some people figure that being a “valued customer” means they can be an unending source of sunken costs in time, effort and stress, among other things. And those costs can be multiplied across the other custo…

I agree, especially you see those videos on youtube where the kids are intentionally 'slipping' and throwing multiple jugs of milk onto the floor.

Re: Amazon Go

#634

Post by Karunamon »

digler999 wrote: post #417
Karunamon wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the store's fault when you selfishly and silently put perishable goods in non-refrigerated areas so they can spoil? IMO the store would have the right to charge you with destruction of property, if not the cost of the goods they're now out entirely due to your actions. The number of people that never learned "put stuff back where you got it" from their parents is astounding.

It sounds like the careless actions of the general public really bother you. Let me tell you something: grocery stores are low margin retailers who make their money by volume of sale, not enforcing conformity. The moment you open your doors to the public, you are going to get all kinds of mentally ill, aloof, high/drunk, distracted, disabled, elderly/senile, and (literally) retarded people in your store. It's futile…

It sounds like the careless actions of the general public really bother you.

That's accurate. Ask me how many times I wish I could find the guy that carelessly tossed a cart out in the parking lot (given easily accessible corrals) which subsequently bashed into the side of my car. Or found a packet of hamburger (with accompanying drippy juices) in with the toys. Or...

The moment you start kicking people out over subjective "rule-violations", you are eating into your own profits, pissing off people, and projecting your own morality onto strangers.

Leaving aside the misuse of the word subjective, this is why we avoid the "kicking out" part altogether and use financial incentives instead. It's no different than, say, ALDI charging you a quarter to get a cart (that you get back if, and only if, you put the cart away). Put stuff back where you found it like a civilized person, and there's never a problem.

Re: Amazon Go

#635

Post by Apocryphon »

Ph0X wrote: post #469
CrLf wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am unsure we are evolving. We have evolved in many areas that solve real problems, like healthcare and such, but I'm not sure today's society is any better for all the technology that allows us to save a couple of minutes in a queue. To improve the efficiency of a particular group, we create problems elsewhere. The result may not be net positive. In fact, I think it isn't, since those saved "couple of minutes" will…

The point isn't that we save 2 minutes, it's that there's now 10 less job we need. And that may seem as a negative at first, but the idea is that as more and more job get automated, prices should go down until the point where people will not have to work full weeks anymore, or rather, focus on learning and reaching higher education, rather than doing dummy work all day (aka just scanning items non stop for 8 hours).

Losing 10 jobs to automation would be far less concerning if the businesses and individuals that cut the jobs would reinvest a greater percentage of their newfound profits into social programs to retrain the 10 people who are now without jobs. Or into a fund for the much-vaunted basic income, even.

Re: Amazon Go

#636

Post by LyndsySimon »

anonbanker wrote: post #576
LyndsySimon wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Are you saying that someone's homework was incorrect? I'm saying that I asked for evidence and got opinion. Grading an assignment is not my responsibility. > There are few things more amusing than when people ask for evidence for the sole purpose of discounting it at any cost. Thanks for being that person. My purpose in asking for evidence was to examine it. I didn't "discredit" it, most of it wasn't relevant, whil…

If my assertions seem improbable, you have two options: * Research and decide, based on evidence you find. * Ridicule and discredit the evidence you asked for. It seems you picked Door Number Two. You mentioned you're from the heart of Walton-ville (You lived by Store #002? how interesting!). Have you spent any time in the midwest ghost towns surrounding their local Supercentre?

> If my assertions seem improbable, you have two options:

"That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence."

You didn't provide evidence, you linked to irrelevant popular articles and someone's homework assignment. Not only did I not ridicule your post, I was careful to follow HN's guideline of assuming good faith even though that seems to not be the case here.

> You mentioned you're from the heart of Walton-ville (You lived by Store #002? how interesting!). Have you spent any time in the midwest ghost towns surrounding their local Supercentre?

I grew up near Harrison, AR. Most of those "ghost towns" were dependent upon a single business that has either closed up or moved away, usually in the manufacturing or petroleum industries.

I've heard many people say WalMart has killed all of these towns, but I've never seen any evidence for it.

Re: Amazon Go

#637

Post by joshumax »

dap wrote: post #515
Ph0X wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point isn't that we save 2 minutes, it's that there's now 10 less job we need. And that may seem as a negative at first, but the idea is that as more and more job get automated, prices should go down until the point where people will not have to work full weeks anymore, or rather, focus on learning and reaching higher education, rather than doing dummy work all day (aka just scanning items non stop for 8 hours).

The claim that increased automation will enable people not to work is often cited as a defense of putting people out of work in favor of automation. This relies heavily on a number of assumptions that I think are empirically completely untested: - that automating all jobs will cause all prices to go down. (It seems just as plausible that if everything were automated, then the relatively small class of people who work…

Funny how I just finish my Thesis on automation and its effects on globalization and the workforce the day before this comes out...

Re: Amazon Go

#638

Post by gniv »

btilly wrote: post #597
delegate wrote: post #387

Look, I know this might not be a popular view here on HN, but I think this is useless. And bad. I'm not talking about the technology behind it (I think it's an amazing achievement).. I live in Barcelona and I have at least 5 medium-sized supermarkets within 5 minutes walking distance from my home. Plus there are several smaller shops that sell fruits and vegetables. I know all the people who work in these supermarket…

When supermarkets came into existence a century ago, people were used to neighborhood grocers. You'd walk in, tell the grocer what items you wanted, the grocer would go back, get your bread, eggs, whatever, bring it up, and then ring you up. These people had worked hard, were well known in their towns, and were generally respected. There was therefore a lot of resistance to self-supermarkets. Where people had to go a…

And yet we are willing to pay 2x for food from farmers markets, artisans etc. That food was made with processes that go against technological progress. Why not apply the same thinking to selling the food in stores? The cashiers can provide added value (socializing, helping with selection, etc) that we are willing to pay for.

Re: Amazon Go

#639

Post by dimino »

JackFr wrote: post #393
Shanea93 wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but needing to swipe in to enter a store is, I think, a very significant change to how we think of stores as public places. CostCo rule #6: Your membership card must be shown on entering the warehouse and at the tills. I don't think it's really that much of a change, this is already par for the course when it comes to bulk-purchase stores. Another one of CostCo's rules: > Parents are responsible for their children.…

That's a good point -- but in general, CostCo or any similar discount club I've been to doesn't really prevent physical access -- there's no turnstile. (Though my experience is limited - I'm not a member - so I typically am with friends or family.)

The only difference is CostCo employs a "turnstile", whereas Amazon will build one.

Re: Amazon Go

#640

Post by tspike »

gnopgnip wrote: post #523
CrLf wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am unsure we are evolving. We have evolved in many areas that solve real problems, like healthcare and such, but I'm not sure today's society is any better for all the technology that allows us to save a couple of minutes in a queue. To improve the efficiency of a particular group, we create problems elsewhere. The result may not be net positive. In fact, I think it isn't, since those saved "couple of minutes" will…

Think about how many bodegas, convenience stores, and small grocery stores are in large cities across the world. Now if all of those stores only had to be restocked for a few hours a day, instead of watching the till 12+ hours a day, the storekeepers would have more time to spend with their families.

This is naïve. In reality, the larger companies will be the ones that can afford the technological advancement, and they will eventually drive the bodegas, convenience stores, and small groceries out of business. The benefits that would otherwise accrue to the shop owners will accrue to the leadership of major corporations instead.
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