Amazon continues to scale back efforts around its cashierless checkout technology, Just Walk Out.
The e-commerce giant closed three of its Go convenience stores in New York last week, The Information confirmed on Friday, leaving just 17 across the nation. (Amazon notes it recently opened one in Washington.) These convenience stores use AI systems to track what customers pick up, allowing them to buy items without ever having to formally check out with a cashier. Since 2023, Amazon has cut the number of Go storefronts it operates nearly in half.
Amazon pulled Just Walk Out technology from its grocery stores earlier this year, saying at the time it would focus more on smaller grab-and-go shops – but maybe not its own. Amazon licenses Just Walk Out technology to lots of third party convenience stores, and Amazon says it’s still committed to the Go format and technology as a whole.