Amazon has given us a sneak peek into the future, with its latest robotic concept – a supermarket staffed by robots.
The company’s CEO Jeff Bezos has toyed with the idea of a two-storey supermarket, operated by robots that selects items and bags them for customers shopping for goods.
The ground level of the Amazon Go supermarket measures between 10,000 and 40,000 square feet and would comprise items that shoppers want to touch and feel, such as fruits and vegetables, egg, meat and cheeses. It would also sell beer and wine and the larger stores could have pharmacies too.
Up to 40,000 items could be on sale, offering a huge alternative to Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and even Aldi and Lidl in towns and cities across the country.
However, the one difference is you’ll probably struggle to find a member of staff if you need one, because the Amazon superstores will cut down on checkout assistants and customer service advisors. In fact, there will be a maximum of ten members of staff on at any time.
“Amazon will utilize technology to minimize labor,” a source close to the situation told The Post.
However, this could cause headaches for the tech firm, not least because less staff means more opportunity for criminals to steal produce.
“Shoplifting is a touchy subject for Amazon,” the same source added. However, its way round this could be to allow only those with a Prime membership into stores. “In the view of Amazon, people who can afford Prime memberships aren’t likely to shoplift. If someone walks in off the street, they’ll be able to access the stores, but they’ll have to sign up for a membership which means showing an ID.”
