72 years after [Clarence Saunders] attempted to patent his idea, advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, and other technologies are making the dream of a worker-free store a reality. And American cashiers may soon be checking out.
A recent analysis by Cornerstone Capital Group suggests that 7.5m retail jobs – the most common type of job in the country – are at "high risk of computerization", with the 3.5m cashiers likely to be particularly hard hit.
Another report, by McKinsey, suggests that a new generation of high-tech grocery stores that automatically charge customers for the goods they take – no check-out required – and use robots for inventory and stocking could reduce the number of labor hours needed by nearly two-thirds. It all translates into millions of Americans' jobs under threat.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Sulla on Thursday August 17 2017, @03:48PM (3 children)
American here. Personally I think that everyone having their own trolley is quite wasteful and probably dangerous. Maybe it is just an American thing but for how much Europe bitches about us having our giant trucks everywhere, a 25 ton trolley rolling down the isle is sure to kill the planet faster.
(I realize that trolley is evidently a cart, I just disagree with it)
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @04:39PM (2 children)
In Georgia we called them buggies. I'm sure that helps too :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @07:32PM
On skid row we call it a moving van.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday August 17 2017, @10:15PM
Actually, given TFA, I'm sure there's a joke about buggie whip manufacturers in here somewhere. I'll let someone else figure it out.