Amazon Go review: It’s the future of retail, for better or worse

Matt Weinberger/Business Insider

When I was in Seattle earlier this week, I knew I had to swing by its newest can’t-miss shopping destination: Amazon Go, the online retailer’s vision for the convenience store of the future.

Amazon Go, which opened to the public in January, comes with the bold promise of no lines, no cash registers, and no checking out. You just grab what you want, and you … go. Oh, I get the name now. 

I put Amazon Go through its paces, and found that the technology — which relies on cameras and other sensors to track your every move — works extremely well. On two visits, I couldn’t manage to fool the system, and I indeed walked right out with my purchases. 

It’s probably the future of retail. It’s also a somewhat worrisome reminder of how artificial intelligence is going to wreak havoc on traditional ideas of employment. 

Here’s what it’s like to shop at Amazon Go, the convenience store of the future:

To get started, you need the Amazon Go app for Android and iPhone, plus an Amazon account. It generates a barcode that you need to get in — kind of like scanning an airplane boarding pass from your phone, if you’ve ever done that.

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No, you can’t use this barcode to log me in. The app automatically scrambles the barcode when you take a screenshot, so you can’t have multiple people shopping on your account all at once. At least, Amazon says it does. 

Here’s the idea: As you shop, you just take whatever you want. The store tracks what you pick up, and what you put back.

Matt Weinberger/Business Insider

You can scan your family and friends in with you, but then whatever they pick up gets charged to your account, so be cautious.

Another unexpected caveat: If another shopper asks you to help them get something off a shelf, don’t do it! You’ll be charged for whatever you pick up, even if another person walks out with it.