According to its press releases there should be 10 of these new Amazon contactless stores on the way for post-lockdown shopping in the UK. The first is expected to open in somewhere in the capital before the end of the year, with Notting Hill mooted as the possible flagship.
The Amazon Branded ‘Go’ stores that already operate in the US will be placed near transport hubs for the obvious reason that they can attract passing commuters and travellers.
However, this was obviously a good sensible marketing place strategy pre-pandemic but does it look as successful now that office workers appear to be reluctant to return to their offices? There are reported to be millions of office workers still planning on working from home for the foreseeable future even though the government have asked everyone to return if their workplaces have been made covid-compliant.
As it stands AMAZON has currently struck deals to open more than ten checkout-free convenience stores, and is holding talks with a view to opening up on 20 other sites. Will they all go ahead as planned if the workplace doesn’t get back to normal?
So even when they do go back just how will London shoppers react to this new way of making their convenience purchases, the first real change since self-service revolutionised the way we all shop?
The stores allow customers to pick up their shopping from the shelves and then leave without being checked out by a person. And that’s because the usual person checking them out has been bee replaced by Scanning technology that records what they take and, then when they leave, it bills their credit card and emails a receipt.
What could be simpler and safer post-lockdown?
Leave a Reply