Amazon said on Friday it was buying Whole Foods in a blockbuster deal for $13.7 billion.
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Amazon is buying Whole Foods — here's Amazon's vision for the grocery store of the future (AMZN)
It's not clear yet what Amazon plans to do with Whole Foods, but it has big plans for the future of grocery stores.
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It's not clear yet what Amazon plans to do with the upscale grocer, but it has big plans for the future of grocery stores.
The online retail giant revealed a concept for a physical store in a video in December.
The store, called Amazon Go, doesn't work like a typical Walmart or supermarket — instead, it's designed for shoppers to use an app, also called Amazon Go, to add the products they plan to buy to a digital shopping cart. They can then walk out of the building without waiting in a checkout line.
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The idea is that Amazon's machine-learning technology automatically identifies when a product is added to your cart, so you don't have to do it yourself. When you leave the store, Amazon automatically charges your account.
The stores would sell ready-made food, staples like bread and milk, and other grocery products. Amazon says its stores would be about 1,800 square feet — relatively small compared with big supermarkets.
Last year, Amazon's internal plans showed that it could build 2,000 grocery stores across the US in the next decade, Business Insider reported. The first Amazon Go store opened for Amazon employees in Seattle earlier this year.
Here is what Amazon says it would be like to shop in one:
Amazon Go sells prepared foods and other grocery staples.
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Everyone who shops needs an Amazon Go app. You scan a QR code when you walk in.
You scan the app on a futuristic turnstile when you enter the store.
Everything you add to your bag is automatically added to your cart — the system will even know whether you put something back.
When you're done shopping, you can simply walk out of the store.
The store will automatically charge the credit card on your Amazon account and send a receipt to your phone.
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The first Amazon Go grocery store opened to the public in downtown Seattle in early 2017.
Watch the entire video:
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