"To enter the store, just open the Amazon app on your smartphone and scan it as you enter. From there, simply put your phone up and shop as you normally would.
Amazon says that anything you pick up is automatically added to a virtual cart that’s associated with your account (similarly, anything you put back on the shelf is removed from your cart). "
So...
I thought at first this was something where they would have you scan the bar code from your phone. If you don't have to have your phone out to scan, then that means they're depending on the following:
-- RFID tags on the items (so that they can detect when specific items are picked off the shelf)
-- RFID tags or scanners built into the shopping basket/cart (so that it can detect when something is put in or taken out)
I can see some potential issues (not that they'll always happen, but could happen):
-- This isn't going to work for someone that literally needs to run in & buy 1 or 2 items off the shelf on the way home. A lot of times when my wife & I are out & it's not the regular grocery run, we don't bother with a basket, let alone a cart. If you're just picking up a gallon of milk or some other relatively small item, we don't take the time to pick up the basket because it's a) bulky & b) a hassle that we don't need. So now you'll *have* to use a basket, even if you don't "need" it to carry your stuff.
-- For the baskets & carts to be able to scan the RFID tags, they'll need power. So the store is going to have a much larger utility bill, since it has to keep charging the batteries in the baskets & carts. Which causes a problem if your particular basket or cart isn't charged up or has a bad battery. Not to mention that the baskets will now be heavier (since they'll have the RFID scanner & battery built into them); at least the carts can always put the equipment underneath so it doesn't take up extra space, although I hate to think of how they'll stand up to outside conditions in the parking lot -- rain, sleet, snow, cold, heat, dings in the cart corrals, being hit by drivers, etc.
-- There's a question in my mind about how the inventory is tracked during the shopping trip, especially without knowing how sensitive the RFID tag readers will be. Sometimes, you go to the grocery store & it's pretty empty; other times, it's so packed you have 4 people trying to squeeze through the same aisle at the same time. If the RFID tag reader is built into the rim of the basket/cart, then it might be OK (because it can only activate the reader if it physically passes all 4 strips); but if it's just based on proximity to the reader, then you could have the situation of person A putting an item into their cart, but person B's cart also reads it as being bought because their carts are right next to each other. An inventory control database could help with that, provided that a) the tag readers are constantly connected to it (I.e. not just at "checkout"), & b) they actually use RFID tags with unique identifiers (unlike UPC codes, where every box of Wheaties has the same UPC code, you'd have to have the tags be unique so that box #20 of Wheaties has a completely different ID than boxes # 19 & 21, or box #307).
-- Leading off of the last issue, they're going to need a *ton* of RFID tags, all with unique IDs. And I don't mean just for when they open, because every new item that comes in will need a brand-new RFID tag on it with its own ID. It may not seem like a lot, but consider that depending on the store size you might have 100 gallons of milk, 200 boxes of butter/margarine, 300 boxes of cereal, 1,000 cans of fruit, etc., available on day 1. Let's say that works out to 20,000 unique items in your store. Except that you have to replenish your stock. Even if you only have to completely replace your inventory once a week, that's just over *1 million* RFID tags (1,040,000, to be exact) needed in the year...for *one* store. If you have to replace your stock more often, that's a lot more RFID tags. And aside from the need for unique IDs for them, that's the problem of *manufacturing* that many... unless you want to institute a "turn in your RFID tags" program (& assuming they can be reprogrammed with a new ID).
-- And then there's produce. Sure, you can simply sell "fresh" produce in pre-bagged amount (with the RFID tag stuck to or built into the bag). But that only works if you need, say, two pounds of tomatoes or 5 pounds of apples. Some people (like myself) don't always need that many. So say goodbye to being able to buy a single onion or avocado, or individual watermelons and spaghetti squash... unless they come shrinkwrapped (which, I would imagine, is not good for their freshness, or your ability to determine how fresh they still are).
