This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori. There is a surge of interest in autonomous checkout technology for convenience stores, as the retail industry struggles more than most through this extended global crisis. The pandemic has helped bolster the case for a checkout-free contactless shopping experience, which mitigates the spread of viruses. The technology also makes sense for major retailers in many markets, allowing them to scale their stores for shoppers, collect unprecedented levels of customer data, and massively reduce labour costs. Memoori reviewed Amazon’s autonomous checkout plans to disrupt this industry in September 2020. Since the introduction of Amazon Go stores, and the acquisition of WholeFoods, Amazon convenience stores have become a major force with which to be reckoned for bricks-and-mortar grocery retailers. But Amazon’s solutions come with a heavy price tag that not all grocery retailers can afford. The hardware for each Amazon Go convenience store costs about […]