Cashierless Tech Is Coming. Here’s How It Will Blow Up Retail

RIP, cash registers

The debut of Amazon’s checkout-less convenience store Amazon Go is one of the biggest evolutions in transactional commerce since Ohio saloonkeeper James Ritty patented the cash register in 1879. That’s because Amazon’s so-called “just walk out” technology uses computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning that allows shoppers to enter with an app, grab items off the shelves and leave without waiting in line to pay a cashier manning Ritty’s 140-year-old invention.

Microsoft is reportedly developing similar technology that has piqued Walmart’s interest, and Chinese ecommerce firm JD.com

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This story first appeared in the August 6, 2018, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.