The first Just Walk Out Whole Foods Market store has opened in Washington, D.C., where Amazon has brought its cashier-less checkout technology to its Whole Foods Market grocery brand.
At the store’s entrance, customers are prompted to select Just Walk Out shopping or use the traditional checkout or self-checkout lanes. Just Walk Out uses overhead computer-vision cameras, weight sensors and deep-learning technology to detect merchandise chosen by the shoppers and track items selected in a virtual cart. Consumers can pay using their palm or a charge being sent to their app.
The new store will feature prepared foods, a wide selection of locally sourced organic foods, responsibly farmed seafood, specialty butcher and cheese departments, as well as all the usual center store products for consumers.
It has been four years since Amazon debuted its Just Walk Out technology at an Amazon Go store in Seattle. Since then, the company has introduced the technology that allows shoppers to exit a store without needing to wait in a checkout line to over 70 stores around the country.
A second Just Walk Out Whole Foods Market is scheduled to open later this year in Sherman Oaks, California.