I was somewhat skeptical of Amazon Go—the e-commerce giant’s brick-and-mortar convenience store that lets you walk out and pay without interacting with a cashier or register. After all, paying at a cash register isn’t that inconvenient. And what if Amazon charges me for something I didn’t buy? Plus, as a regular Amazon shopper and Alexa user, do I really want to give more of my money and data to one of the world’s most valuable companies?
But after shopping at Amazon’s newest Go store in Chicago, I’m sold. Amazon Go is a game-changer in retail and could have major implications for how we shop in the future. And it’s one of the best Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) services I’ve ever used.
Amazon Go first launched in Seattle in January 2018, and it now has seven Go stores in total—three in Seattle, three in Chicago and one in San Francisco. Its latest Go store opened Tuesday at the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago at 500 W. Madison St.
It’s a logical place for an Amazon Go. Thousands of commuters travel through Ogilvie every day, many who are looking for a quick bite or drink before they jump on the Metra or head into work. And time is a factor, especially if you’re running to catch a train or late for work because your train was delayed.
The biggest benefit of Amazon Go is speed. I spent 4 minutes and 13 seconds in the store (I know that because of an Amazon push notification I got once I left), but it could have been closer to 30 seconds if I hadn’t stopped to chat with store employees and strolled the aisles to get a sense of the store’s inventory.
Read more at the Denver Business Journal: https://bit.ly/2Rn8Mrr
