Cashierless stores are popping up at gas stations, stadiums and even Dunkin':
Pretty soon you might find Amazon Go-like concepts just about everywhere.
Mastercard on Friday said it's joining the effort to create more of these kinds of cashierless stores, unveiling a platform it calls Shop Anywhere. It teamed up with retail tech company Accel Robotics to create a handful of new test concepts that let customers check into a store, grab what they want and walk out.
[...] For instance, the team created a new self-service Dunkin' store that allows people to check in at a kiosk, get doughnuts and coffee, and leave without stopping at a cashier. The store will be staffed with workers to restock items and provide customer service, but there won't be a register.
[...] The payment network pitched these concepts as more flexible than Amazon Go, with Shop Anywhere capable of going into all kinds of locations and being retrofitted into existing stores -- something Amazon Go hasn't yet done. Both Shop Anywhere and Amazon Go are powered by a series of cameras that are kitted with computer vision and AI.
Customers will no longer have to interact with proprietors or employees.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday August 29 2020, @07:10PM
Home Depot has those self checkout stations, but knowledgeable employees are not superfluous at all. There's a branch in Brooklyn I never go to because their employees know nothing about building anything; Instead I wait to go to a branch in Long Island, where most people working there are ex-plumbers, carpenters, electricians, etc. That really helps when you don't know the proper key words for the items you need and can only explain what you're trying to do.
Washington DC delenda est.