Just Walk Out technology in Amazon stores relied on a thousand Indians to follow customers

Amazon is gradually abandoning the Just Walk Out technology in Amazon Fresh grocery stores, reports Gizmodo.

The company explained how the technology works by saying that customers don’t have to go to the cash register and pay, as in traditional markets.

Instead, at the entrance, you just need to scan a QR code, and then a sophisticated system of cameras and sensors will figure out which products the customer has taken and charge the card at the exit.

But it turned out that the system relied on more than 1,000 employees from India. They watched the video from the cameras and entered all the products that customers had chosen into the electronic basket. So the cashiers were simply moved outside the store.

Now Amazon is moving towards Dash Carts, scanners and screens that are built into the cart, allowing you to place an order while shopping. This is the technology that will gradually replace Just Walk Out.

Just Walk Out was first introduced in 2016. The technology seemed incredible, but it was not without its bugs. Customers often waited hours for checks after leaving the store, as it turned out, because remote cashiers were reviewing video footage to determine purchases.

According to The Information, as of 2022, 700 of Just Walk Out’s 1,000 sales required human reviewers.

Amazon Fresh is a grocery store chain with physical stores and delivery services in most major cities in the United States, as well as in some international cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, London, Milan, Munich, Rome, and Tokyo.