Amazon plans to launch cashier-less grocery store name Amazon Go. Basically you walk in, you log in from your phone. Then whatever you touched, even whatever you put back is recorded in the ‘system’ of the store. So after you got the stuff you want, just walk out the store. You will be charged automatically. hmmm… Wonder how human like that idea.
Last time I went to downtown San Francisco, the epicenter of technology and asked people on the street how they like the idea of the cashier-less grocery store. And got a feeling that everybody there is so ready for automation, AI etc. That is very good, but I do wonder how people outside of the tech world react to that.
Even when I was interviewing in San Francisco, I hear people say they although they work in tech, they still love the human interaction of life such as talking to cashiers in grocery store. So it got me interested why they people like to do grocery, or how exactly they feel about the human interaction with grocery shopping.
So this time, I went to Trader Joe’s in Fremont, and ask why they like shopping there, and how they like the idea of the cashier-less grocery store. Here is the interview:
Results:
- Most shoppers there love to interact with cashiers, or the social side of shopping.
- Other retailers can learn from this too if they want to stay competitive from the e-commerce side. E-commerce can provide the convenience that retailers cannot compete, so retailers can take advantage of being able to care more of their customers from a human aspect.
- Trader Joe’s staff love their community, and love to create a better community. So that seems like a major reason their customers are coming back.
- Last but not least, Amazon, just at the customer said in the interview, you can do better at human interaction side of the business.