Bloomberg Businessweek has a terrific story about the development of the Amazon Go checkout-free technology, and what it means for the company’s future.
An excerpt:
“From a technological perspective, the Go stores are a marvel - a succinct demonstration of Amazon.com Inc.’s capacity to devote vast resources toward applying the state of the art in artificial intelligence to an everyday problem. They also illustrate the company’s tendency to pursue technology for technology’s sake (see: the Fire Phone), resulting in a store that offers all the selection of a 7-Eleven, but with more complexity and cost.”
But, the story asks, “Will all this work be worth it?
“Some Go stores seem almost deserted except for the lunchtime rush. Employees familiar with Amazon’s internal projections say the outlets in Chicago, in particular, are falling short of expectations, and the company has had to resort to raffles and giveaways of tote bags and other branded goodies. Yet, as the turbulent history of the project suggests, the Go store isn’t so much the culmination of the company’s efforts but something closer to an ongoing experiment. And the potential prize - a big piece of the $12 trillion grocery industry - is one that Amazon, with its limitless resources and appetite for risk, may be in the best position to claim.”
You can read the entire story here.
An excerpt:
“From a technological perspective, the Go stores are a marvel - a succinct demonstration of Amazon.com Inc.’s capacity to devote vast resources toward applying the state of the art in artificial intelligence to an everyday problem. They also illustrate the company’s tendency to pursue technology for technology’s sake (see: the Fire Phone), resulting in a store that offers all the selection of a 7-Eleven, but with more complexity and cost.”
But, the story asks, “Will all this work be worth it?
“Some Go stores seem almost deserted except for the lunchtime rush. Employees familiar with Amazon’s internal projections say the outlets in Chicago, in particular, are falling short of expectations, and the company has had to resort to raffles and giveaways of tote bags and other branded goodies. Yet, as the turbulent history of the project suggests, the Go store isn’t so much the culmination of the company’s efforts but something closer to an ongoing experiment. And the potential prize - a big piece of the $12 trillion grocery industry - is one that Amazon, with its limitless resources and appetite for risk, may be in the best position to claim.”
You can read the entire story here.
- KC's View:
