Amazon is paving the way for the future of shopping, not only online, but in the real world as well.

We were pretty impressed with Amazon 4-Star recently, which is a store stocking only the top-rated products on the retail giant’s website.

Now they’re revolutionising the way that stores interact with their customers by removing the middleman.

That’s right – you can now interact directly with the store itself. No cashiers, cash register, or self-service checkout stand. Just you and your phone.

Here’s CNN:

You simply walk in, grab what you need, and go. Amazon bills your credit card as you pass through the turnstile on your way out. Moments later, an app in your phone provides a receipt detailing what you’ve bought, what you paid, and even how long you spent inside.

Take a look:

To get started, you have to download an app. As you pass through the turnstile, you scan your unique barcode from the app.

Hundreds of cameras track your every move, keeping tabs on everything you put in your basket. The cameras create a three-dimensional representation of you that looks a bit like the monochromatic and slightly blurry videos made by a Microsoft Kinect. Amazon uses these images to know that it was you, not the guy next to you, who grabbed that bottle of seltzer.

The software is so sophisticated that it can pinpoint the exact product that you’ve chosen, down to its ingredients.

You aren’t charged anything until you’ve left the store. One of the main motivators behind the AI-operated store was that people don’t like waiting in lines.

I can relate to that. I literally feel my life getting shorter every time I’m in a queue.

These technologies are expected to become the norm in the next few years and retailers unable to keep up might struggle to compete.

As technology becomes more advanced, analysts predict that human interaction will be replaced with a voice that addresses you directly when you enter the store, providing you with personalised recommendations based on your shopping preferences.

The future is here, and it looks convenient.

[source:cnn]