Amazon keep pushing the boundaries of how we shop. They have transformed on-line shopping with their easy-to-use online shopping experience backed up by their huge delivery chain / network.

They have now turned their attention to normal shops with their new Amazon Go service concept which enables shoppers to enjoy the maximum convenience of shopping without the need to stop and check out. This has to be supported by an Amazone account.

As Michael Kasavana, the National Automatic Merchandising Association endowed professor emeritus, The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University explains in his article. "Amazon Go's impact on payments, self-checkout", in MobilePayments Today, "The long-term implications are hard to predict, but this is a development that could revolutionize much of retailing as we know it, including some kiosk industry segments."

He continues, "Although considered a disruptive technology for retail staffing, Amazon Go may impact the need for self checkout kiosks. Just as Uber and Lyft have managed to derail the taxi and rental car industries, Amazon hopes Amazon Go will similarly disrupt the way consumers interact with retail operations."

His key takeaways on Amazon Go:

• "Amazon Go has no registers; shoppers scan into the store with a free app, shop as normal, and leave the store with the items billed to an Amazon account.
• Despite the fact that Amazon's new shopping experiment is already prompting doomsday headlines for retail workers, human employees are still key to the retail experience.
• Industry observers claim that Amazon Go isn’t only disrupting grocery shopping. It may be reinventing the entire retail category."

---

CTMfile take: How sure are you that this won't impact your retail network? Really?