Amazon Just Walk Out technology rolls out to more universities across Australia, UK, and US
Amazon will deploy its Just Walk Out technology at more on-campus convenience stores in 2024.
This will bring the worldwide total of Just Walk Out campus c-stores to more than 30 across three countries.
Customers can scan a credit card when they walk in, select items and leave. Their account will be charged and a receipt emailed to them.
In an online post, Amazon said: “Across Australia, the UK, and the US, Just Walk Out stores on university campuses offer a fast and reliable checkout-free experience so students can get what they need and get back to their studies.”
“This school year, universities like Emory University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Maine, and University of Virginia are opening new stores, bringing the number of Just Walk Out stores on college campuses to more than 30 worldwide.”
Currently, the following universities offer these locations, with bold indicating a new one in 2024.
Australia
Canberra Institute of Technology
UK
Sussex University
US
California
California State University, Long Beach
University of California San Diego
Florida
University of Miami
Georgia
Georgia Southern University
Emory University
Illinois
North Park University
Maine
University of Maine
Maryland
Loyola University Maryland – Evergreen campus
Loyola University Maryland – Sellinger School of Business and Management
Massachusetts
Lesley University
Endicott University
Missouri
Lindenwood University
New Jersey
Montclair State University
Stevens Institute of Technology
North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Ohio
Bowling Green State University
Kent State University
University of Dayton
Pennsylvania
Marywood University
Lafayette College
Penn State
University of Pittsburgh
Ursinus College
Texas
Texas Christian University (TCU)
Virginia
Marymount University
University of Virginia
“THIS IS HOW ITERATIVE INNOVATION EVOLVES”
In April, our sister title RTIH reported that Amazon was removing Just Walk Out technology from its Amazon Fresh stores.
This is being replaced by smart carts.
Just Walk Out will continue to be deployed in Amazon Go stores and some smaller Amazon Fresh stores in the UK. Amazon will also continue to offer the tech to third-party retailers.
“We’ve invested a lot of time redesigning a number of our Amazon Fresh stores over the last year, offering a better overall shopping experience with more value, convenience, and selection, and so far we’ve seen positive results, with higher customer shopping satisfaction scores and increased purchasing," said spokesperson Jessica Martin.
“We’ve also heard from customers that while they enjoyed the benefit of skipping the checkout line with Just Walk Out, they also wanted the ability to easily find nearby products and deals, view their receipt as they shop, and know how much money they saved while shopping throughout the store.”
To label the initiative a failure was naive at best and at worst a complete misunderstanding of tech creativity, argued Brand L. Elverston, Founder/Principal at Elverston Consulting.
He commented: “For the pessimists, this is a colossal "I told you so." For others, it is easily understood this is how iterative innovation evolves.”
“The idea, the whiteboard, the alpha, the beta, the limited test, adjustments, reworks, and refits - and learnings all the while. Collateral, unintended innovation often occurs when pursuing some completely different goal.”
He added: “Pursuits such as these are exactly what sparks imagination and creativity. Not all are going to become resounding, earth shattering, take the world by storm events. In fact, few do.”
“When Amazon unveiled the first Amazon Go store in 2016/17, it immediately caught the eyes of countless tech firms and retailers - how many others followed with their own solutions?”
