Amazon starts selling cashier-less technology

The online retail giant Amazon will start selling its cashier-less technology to any store or retail outlet that wants it. The software is called "Just Walk Out". The software means stores do not need any cashiers. Shoppers simply scan a smartphone app when they arrive at a store and then put their shopping in their bag and... just walk out of the store. The software automatically calculates the cost of the customer's shopping and charges the cost of their shopping to the customer's Amazon account. The new software will allow customers to have their credit card or other payment card deducted instead. Amazon has been using the software for the past two years in its own Go Grocery stores.

The Just Walk Out software will reduce the amount of employees a store needs. Instead, the store will need to put hundreds of small cameras on the ceiling. The cameras link to software that detects what customers have put into their bag. The software then bills the customer and issues a receipt online. An industry expert expects Amazon to make a lot of money from selling the software to other stores. Many stores want to remove one of the biggest things customers complain about - slow checkouts. Amazon said the software will allow store staff, "to focus on more valuable activities". However, a retail expert worries that, "there will be fewer jobs as automation comes in".