There are now 5 Amazon Fresh stores in London. This is one of the latest ones in Camden Town. The stores demonstrate a bit of groundbreaking innovation pioneered in the US and now being rolled out in other countries. Customers can walk out of a store without going to a point of sale or scanning any item.
How it works
As you approach the store you’ll notice a sign by the door which provides you with instructions. Two store colleagues were also stood at the door explaining how the store works.
The customer simply identifies themselves and anyone who is part of the same group by scanning a QR code generated by the Amazon app at the gates as you walk in. The customer then proceeds to pick up and then carry items out of the store.
Within the ceiling are cameras which are detecting your movement as you pickup items from the shelf.
There are no printed shelf edge labels, just battery powered e-ink based digital shelf edge labels. These labels update prices by connecting to a wireless network where prices are centrally controlled. Items that are on special offer have a red bezel edge.
After leaving the store within 20-40 minutes, the customer will receive a push notification to their phone which confirms the items the customer walked out with and the fact the amount has now been debited from the default payment card that is setup against the customer’s Amazon account. An order summary is then also sent by email.
