Amazon brings Just Walk Out convenience to the suburbs

Image: Amazon

The company announced today that it is bringing its Just Walk Out technology to a new format of stores aimed at suburbs. The new stores will use the Amazon Go branding that the company already uses for its locations in city centers, but will instead be located further away where they will sell food, snacks, alcohol, and a few every day essentials.

They are convenience stores and come at a time when people are spending more time in the vicinity of their homes rather than working in the city. Amazon says customers will be able to browse the store, pick up items, and then leave without having to interact with a cashier or self-checkout.

An exact date for the opening of the first of these locations is yet to be announced, but Amazon says it will open in Mill Creek, Washington in the coming months. The first Amazon Go store opened in Seattle in the summer of 2018, 20 miles north of Mill Creek. The format will be brought to the LA-metro area in the future.

Many of Amazon's retail locations have its Just Walk Out technology. Smaller Amazon Go stores are not the only ones the company has. According to Business Insider, the operating costs of Amazon's retail technology have plummeted by as much as 96 percent since the beginning of the year.