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'Amazon Go' Stores Will Let You Grab Groceries and Go, No Checkout Needed
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It's possible to have them work well in some places but not others.
http://www.dailynews.com/business/2...-checkout-lanes-at-southern-california-stores
https://www.quora.com/Why-are-stores-removing-self-checkout-lanes
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130924/business/709249720/
Artificially protecting non-value-added jobs for the sake of the unskilled workers (or nostalgia's sake) will only create a bubble and delay the process of developing a more educated, skilled and ultimately more valuable work force.
It's not like replacing "mindless jobs" with those monitoring / maintaining / developing these types of systems are 1:1. The point of these systems are not convenience for the customer, it's about saving payroll on employees. What happens when you've traded 1000 low wage jobs for 100 higher paying jobs? Higher unemployment, more people on welfare, higher crime.
The checkout people's jobs will be replaced with security people.
I agree that there is no difference in terms of having already eliminated mindless, low skilled jobs. But there are three important differences:
1. It's way less of a pain in the ass for shoppers, which is great for consumers.
2. It's also way easier for shoppers to impulse shop and "overbuy" without realizing what their bill is or how much they've purchased, which is great for the store.
3. It's easier for Amazon/advertisers to create a robust/unified profile of a shopper's buying habits that spans online & offline retail environments than any current methods allow, which is great for Amazon/advertisers .
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I, for one, actually miss Steve Jobs. Less Jobs is what is hurting Apple and the world.
Agreed. This is mainly a transformation of jobs. I can't count the number of times I've been in a store and couldn't find a single person to help me. At least with this implementation, the tech should be able to help find the items that I'm after.
But I do worry about one thing — people running up credit card debt. That's already a serious problem, and the constant push towards micro-payments (Apple, etc.) and these "convenience" shopping systems only serve to add to the problem.
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I wonder if his kids will follow in his footsteps in some capacity? I wonder if they are passionate about Apple products, or sick of them?
Unless you use some kind of loyalty card, retailers don't actually know your identity (especially if you use a privacy-friendly payment method such as Apple Pay). Amazon, on the other hand, will be able to tie all your transactions back to your account and track your shopping habits long-term.
With stories like this too ( https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/17/self-driving-trucks-impact-on-drivers-jobs-us ), what's left for the lesser educated Americans? I suppose now there's the potential to be the president. That's a fairly lucrative job.
A) It doesn't need to be 1:1. Who says it does? It would violate all logic and known math if it did.
B) If you don't recognize that Amazon worked extremely hard to make this new retail system WAY more convenient for shoppers (as a point of differentiation from existing checkout and self-checkout options) then it is probably impossible to have a reasonable conversation with you on this topic.
3. Creating "high-paying jobs" or ensuring full employment isn't Amazon's responsibility. Their job is to offer more value, at a better price, than their competitors. If you, or economists, or the state wanna concern yourself with unemployment, welfare, and crime, then have at it. But don't pin that on Amazon.
A. The point is you are not only losing potential jobs in the short term, but as these systems catch on your losing jobs in the long term and that is bad for the economy.
B. Amazon is a publicly traded company. They operate in the best interest of their shareholders, not their customers. Their job is to make money, full stop. This "convenience" is nearly a means to an end. If this wasn't aimed at making money down the line they wouldn't do it, and if you can't see that then it is probably impossible to have a reasonable conversation with you on this topic.
C. Of course it isn't Amazon's responsibility, their only responsibility is to make money for the company and its shareholders. What I'm saying however is that these practices may be good for Amazon and other corporations, but it's bad for the country and society as a whole.
Oh you thought jobs were coming back as promised? Get ready for more automation taking jobs away.
Did you feel the same way about ATMs being introduced and continue to go to a bank teller to take out money?
What about going up to the ticket collector instead of using the turnstile at a subway station?
Do you fill your own gas or go to a full service gas station to make sure that person is kept employed?
Use an automated car wash?
Do online ordering of food instead of calling the fast food place and putting your order through?
You must not shop many places then if you only go to shops that pay a living wage.
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OK, so that was quite funny. Made me laugh!
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Actually, two grocery chains in southern California are actually removing their self-checkout stations, much to my disappointment. The news story said the grocery chains thought a more personal experience was important.
The problem is, the "personal experience" is what makes me choose self-checkout. If the cashiers aren't yapping away with the customers about personal crap while we stand there staring a hole through them, then it's some idiot who apparently hasn't ever used his ATM card before and takes 5 minutes to pay, the decrepit old woman who insists on writing a check, or a food stamp family who can't figure out what things are allowed or not.
I can get in and out of a store so much faster with self-checkout. This idea of NO CHECKOUT is something I would almost pay a bit MORE for!
I do so much shopping on Amazon these days, lol. I love it. They do have some problems with counterfeit goods, but I use sites such as ReviewMeta to check things out ahead of time. CamelCamelCamel is also a great resource to send price alerts and see if I'm getting a deal. I've got an Amazon reward card that builds up a balance each cycle that I can use to buy even more Amazon stuff for free. I'm hopelessly hooked, lol. Can't wait for one hour delivery and these stores to show up in my area. Will probably be years.
Do you also refuse to use elevators that have buttons instead of elevator operators?
That might seem comical, but really, where does it start and where does it end?
- 200 people can dig a ditch with their bare hands.
- Invent a shovel, and 20 people can dig the ditch.
- Invent a backhoe, and 2 people can dig the ditch.
- Invent a robot, and nobody digs the ditch.
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The kind of jobs America needs are the jobs that create systems like this.... Not mindless low level poverty wage checkers.....
Before complaining about a $15 minimum wage, get to know some of these people and see how difficult their lives are at whatever they're getting paid today. Most of them are NOT teenagers or the elderly, and they don't make enough to get the training or education they need to advance their careers. I don't want to live in a society where we don't pay full-time employees enough to live even at a basic standard of living.
Besides, isn't it kind of crazy for us to have a human to slide groceries in front of a bar-code scanner and drop them in a bag? I don't mean this to be harsh, but this is a job that does not require much skill. My 7-year-old knows how to drive a bar code scanner and cash register. Is this really the kind of job we should be protecting? I'd far rather see these people learn to install, maintain and repair these point-of-sale systems-- or do almost anything else. Marketing. In-store promotion. E-commerce. Customer service. Something outside the store. Anything.
The world, and technology, moves relentlessly forward. We shouldn't expect people to stop growing, learning and enhancing their skills.
Ummm there are a lot of jobs that should go away. No one should be paid to check groceries, if we can eliminate them. The jobs we need are the jobs that pay a living wage.... The very ones that create this type of system at Amazon.
Yes I will go to the person first if that is an option. On the gas one for awhile I was living in a town where one of the gas stations was full service and the other wasn't. I went to the full service one as often as I could.
Personally, I avoid the self checkout stands. I'm still paying full price for the groceries, so I'll let them do the scanning and bagging.
If they offer a discount, then I'd do it myself. But not until then.