Now you can “Just Walk Out” — with a bottle of tequila.
Amazon’s cashierless technology experience has made its way into a liquor store for the first time ever.
Seattle-based Downtown Spirits opened a new 4,200 square-foot location earlier this month featuring the tech giant’s “Just Walk Out” system that replaces the traditional checkout process by tracking shoppers with overhead computer vision cameras as they move around.
This weekend we checked out the store, located just a stone’s throw away from Amazon’s headquarters campus in downtown Seattle.
The experience is a little cumbersome at first. After walking inside, customers need to download the Downtown Spirits app, add credit card information, and sign up for the company’s membership program (30-day free trials are offered) before they can enter the shopping area.
That can dissuade some customers — in fact, one person left after hearing store workers explain how it all worked.
But the four others we spoke with seemed either happy or apathetic about the whole thing.
Kevin Lewis, a Tacoma, Wash. resident, didn’t understand what was happening when he entered. After all, it’s a bit awkward seeing people at the front of a liquor store on their phones, gated off from the aisles.
But after that, it was smooth sailing for Lewis.
“Scanned the QR code, walked in, started putting stuff in my bag and walked out,” he said.
Courtney Lemmo, who was visiting Seattle from Cleveland, said she likes the “old school” way of shopping.
“But I can adapt and get over it,” she said.
Cashierless tech can help reduce or eliminate long lines, something that’s particularly evident at sports stadiums using Amazon’s system.
But for Downtown Spirits, one of the key benefits of cashierless tech is to address shoplifting.
“Knowing your customer before they walk into the store greatly reduces the risk that someone is going to walk out with something that you didn’t receive compensation for,” said Downtown Spirits President Marques Warren. “That really was the impetus for me reaching out to Amazon to pursue this technology.”
And it’s not just about the bottom line.
“It’s the psychological impact on your team, who have to deal with it day in and day out,” Warren said. “We’re able to prevent that by preventing people from actually even coming into the store where they have access to product. We’re able to divert them, identify them as a risk, and either onboard them or politely escort them out.”
In a traditional spirits store, Warren said bottles are typically kept waist-high so managers can quickly scan the sales floor. He said the cashierless tech enables him to squeeze more product on shelves at different heights, given the added security.
The store, located at 1813 7th Ave., still requires human employees on site who check IDs and assist customers.
Warren, who runs another liquor shop south of downtown Seattle, admits there are trade-offs with the technology. Some people don’t want to participate, and that’s lost revenue.
But for Warren, it’s worth it.
“Technology can help to bring brick-and-mortar retail back,” he said. “Retailers that are willing to embrace technology are going to be the ones that succeed.”
Amazon has expanded its “Just Walk Out” to various third-party retailers since it rolled out the system in its own Amazon Go convenience stores in 2018. The tech is now used in a number of Amazon’s larger Amazon Fresh grocery stores; several Whole Foods stores; at Starbucks; and in food stores located inside Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field.
Some of those stores also feature Amazon One palm-scanning biometric tech, which lets customers enter and pay with the wave of a hand.
Amazon’s cashierless system has sparked some backlash. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union said the tech threatens retail worker jobs and discriminated against underbanked households.
