In January last year, Amazon opened the doors to its first “Amazon Go” grocery store offering a cashier-free, app-based food shopping experience in its hometown of Seattle.
Now, the company is expanding its checkout-free retail concept with a second Amazon Go store in Seattle, that will be located in the new Madison Centre office tower at the corner of 5th Avenue and Marion Street.
In an official statement, Amazon has confirmed the location of the new store. “We are excited to bring Amazon Go to 920 5th Avenue in Seattle. The store will open in Fall 2018” (via GeekWire).
Citing permit filings with the city of Seattle, the source notes that the new store will be bigger than the original one, and will span over an area of approximately 3,000 square feet, versus 1,800 square feet.
It’s on the first floor of the Madison Centre, a 36-story high-rise that opened late last year across from Seattle Central Library and houses law firm Davis Wright Tremaine and Seattle startup Textio.
A convenient gap at the top of the window covering shows the signature Amazon Go slogan, “No lines. No checkout. (No, seriously.)” Peering through the window from the sidewalk, GeekWire also spotted rows of sandwiches, bottles of Smartwater and Peligrino, and the entry-exit scanning gates to the store.
Amazon’s cashier-less store relies heavily on the Amazon Go smartphone app. Customers scan a unique QR code within the app before passing through a set of glass doors. A vast array of overhead cameras and weight sensors in the shelves automatically track what people pick up and take from the store.
When customers leave, Amazon Go’s systems automatically debit their accounts for the items they take, sending the receipt to the app.
If you haven’t already, check out our experience of visiting the original Amazon Go store in Seattle with a Canadian Amazon account.
