Amazon Go shows that the best user interface will be no user interface
If you were on the Internet this week, you probably saw the new grocery store of the future from Amazon, Amazon Go. If not, here's a quick video recap:
It's straight out of minority report but in real life. The amount of cameras and microphones used to be able to track your every move is, quite honestly, a little creepy. The Verge takes a look at an Amazon patent that's used for Amazon Go and speculates on how various pieces of it could be used in their new stores. It's insane the level of detail that Amazon could go into as a far as tracking their customer's every move in a physical space .
While Amazon could track your every move in a store, they're already doing the same online with how you shop, what you do via Echo and what you need quickly via Dash.
Amazon is showing that the future of their user interface is going to be a lack of user interface
It'll only take a swipe of an app to be able to shop and buy items from a grocery store.
Amazon Dash allows you to buy certain items immediately with just the push of a button. It's a feature that Megan and I have seriously considered for things like toilet paper, detergent or diapers.
You can speak to Alexa using Amazon Echo and add things to a shopping list, tasks to a to-do list or buy items just buy speaking to a black box.
We've been shopping on Amazon by logging in, pointing and clicking. Amazon pioneered the 1-click checkout process. Now they're even eliminating the click. They're eliminating a lot of steps. While Apple is seen as a champion in minimalism in technology, Amazon owns minimalism in the overall customer experience.
What will my kid think about shopping five years ago?
Our collective minds were blown yesterday by Amazon Go. I wonder what shopping will look like for my six-week-old daughter Campbell? We've been having to shop opening a screen, browsing around and doing a lot of scrolling and clicking. She won't know of a reality where buying something by just tapping a piece of plastic or speaking to a box isn't a normal way to buy a product.
My parents had to call someone using a rotary phone back in their day. They had to spin a little pin wheel over and over again to find the right number. And that was all they had. Now, I can have a face-to-face call now with someone by simply asking Siri to do it.
My guess is that Campbell will look at my shopping process now the same way I look at how my parents used to use a rotary phone. I'll be telling her stories of having to go into a store, pick things out, pull out a card, swipe it, put in a number, save a paper receipt and carry bags out. I'll tell her about how I had to scroll and click and do all these steps to buy a product online. I'll tell her these things and she'll think I'm so old and lived in the dark ages.
Although, I'm sure I'll give her plenty of other reasons to think I'm old.
Amazon Go will require some serious customer service out of the gate
Self checkout lines at grocery stores seemed like a novel idea when they first arrived. "Wait...less lines! Checkout on my own time!"
Amazon Go seems like the epitome of convenience...no lines at all!
However, if you've ever waited in line at self checkout kiosks, you know that even after all these years, it's not the smoothest experience every time. Amazon Go will have the same issues.
Tech issues will happen. Glitches are bound to occur. While on its best day, Amazon Go will be one of the most convenient ways to shop, they'll really have to staff up on customer service. Even the most automated, robotic shopping experience will require a lot of human support.
What are your thoughts on Amazon Go? Viable shopping experience of the future?