45BloombergBusinessweek July 22, 2019
Seven years ago, Jeff Bezos started
an ambitious effort to rid the world
of checkout lines. Has Amazon Go invented
a new retail paradigm or a
ridiculously expensive way to sell lunch?By Brad Stone and Matt Day
Photographs by Ian AllenInthefallof2015, Amazon executives in charge of a
top-secretprojecttorevolutionizegrocerystoresinvitedJeff
Bezostoevaluatetheirwork.They’dleaseda warehousein
southSeattleandconvertedpartofthegroundfloorintoa
15,000-square-footmocksupermarket,withplywoodwalls,
shelves,andturnstiles,mimickingtechnologythatwould
scanshoppers’smartphoneswhentheywalkedin.
TheAmazonchiefexecutiveofficerandseveralassis-
tantspretendedtoshop,pushinggrocerycartsdownaisles
stockedwithcannedfoodandplasticfruitandvegetables.
TherewerespecialtycounterswhereAmazonemploy-
eesposingasbaristas, butchers, and cheesemongers took
orders and added items to Bezos’ imaginary bill.
Afterward, according to a person who was there, Bezos
gathered the project executives and told them that while
they all had done a fabulous job, the experience felt dis-
jointed. Customers would have to wait for meat, seafood,
and fruit to be weighed and added to their bill, which
would have been fine except that the major selling point of
thestorewassupposedtobetheabsenceoftime-wasting
checkout lines. Bezos asked the group to lose the meat and
cheeseandfocusongettingridoflinesandcashiers.“Itwas
oneofthoseAmazonthings,”anotheremployeerecallswith
regret.“Weloveit—let’schangeeverything!”
Almost four years later there are 14 Amazon Go stores
in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle. They’re
about a quarter the size of the original mock-up, located
in downtown office districts and offering a small selec-
tion of sandwiches, meal kits, and convenience store items
such as sodas, jams, and potato chips. Just as Bezos had
hoped, there are no cash registers. Once customers have
scanned a screen from a special app on their phone at the
entrance, they just grab their items and walk out the door,
while Amazon magically charges their credit card. By all
accounts, the company intends to open more of these stores
inthemonthsandyearsahead.
Froma technologicalperspective,theGostoresarea
marvel—a succinct demonstration of Amazon.com Inc.’sTHE