Amazon ditching 'Just Walk Out' technology at grocery stores

Amazon is getting rid of its “Just Walk Out” self-service technology at Amazon Fresh stores in the United States.

The company told The Hill on Wednesday it is replacing the technology at stores that lets customers grab items and leave without waiting in a checkout line by tracking what they picked up with sensors and cameras.

Instead, it will offer the “Amazon Dash Cart,” which allows shoppers to “grab an item off the shelf, scan it, and place it right in” the cart and still "skip the checkout line" by paying automatically, according to an Amazon webpage.

In an emailed statement to The Hill, Amazon spokesperson Jessica Martin said the company has “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.”

“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,” Martin continued

“To deliver even more convenience to our customers, we’re rolling out Amazon Dash Cart, our smart-shopping carts, which allows customers all these benefits including skipping the checkout line.”

The Information first reported on Amazon scrapping “Just Walk Out” at Amazon Fresh stores.

Amazon is not getting rid of its “Just Walk Out” technology at its Amazon Go stores and smaller Amazon Fresh stores in the U.K. It opened its first cashier-less physical grocery store outside the U.S. in 2021 in London.