5 reasons why Amazon Go has changed the convenience experience forever
January 29, 2019
January 29, 2019
It was quite the morning in the heart of downtown Chicago—cold, crowded and with an endless supply of options to quench my thirst. As the trains were running a bit late, I only had a few minutes to spare before my first meeting of the morning.
I decided to stop in at the new Amazon Go store that is conveniently located within the Ogilvie Train Station. I scanned in, walked all the way to the back of the store, grabbed a 33.8 fl oz. Sparkling Smart Water, and simply walked out. Seems pretty simple … but what I didn’t tell you is that I was in and out of the store in 15 seconds.
Now this is where things get interesting. The next morning, I wanted to see how long the exact same transaction took at a well-known convenience store/pharmacy. I pulled out my stopwatch and got myself prepared to move as swiftly as I could. I made it all the way to the back of the store, searched through an ocean of options, unfortunately couldn’t find my beverage of choice, settled on the regular Smart Water, and walked to the checkout line. Stood in line for 30 seconds and then headed over to the self-checkout lane. Scanned my item, answered a bunch of questions (e.g. type of payment, loyalty member Y/N, etc.) and then was on my way. The time? Three minutes and 2 seconds.
Amazon Go has changed the convenience experience forever, and here’s why:
And now a brief note to my colleagues in the fuels and convenience retail industry:
Tsunamis, often initiated by an earthquake, have been known to cause extreme destruction for anything that are in their paths. One of the more deceiving elements of a tsunami is that just before it makes landfall, the water begins to recede exposing the sea floor and creating a sight for unassuming spectators. In my opinion, this is the point where our industry is at. The earthquake has already happened, and the water is starting to recede. As an industry, there are many companies watching from the shore quite interested in the receding water line. There are some that are retreating and moving as far away from the shore as possible. And there are others that are building their surf boards, as they can’t wait to ride the best wave of their lives.
Is your organization equipped to ride the wave of convenience?
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