Retailers Ditch Cashiers and Trust Shoppers to Pay Before Leaving
Stores want to give customers an Amazon Go-like experience, without the cost of added security measures.
A worker uses an in-office Vkusvill self-service mini market in Moscow on Nov. 21, 2019.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergIn the race to make shopping as easy as possible, a growing group of companies has turned to a strategy that seems impossible in our security-saturated world: the honor system.
From Russia to Japan to the U.S., retailers are betting on the good side of human nature. In exchange for being able to grab an item and walk out, shoppers are relied on to be honest and pay—much like an unmanned roadside produce stand. So far, theft rates are low, which means these companies have hit on a way to offer a cashier-less experience similar to Amazon.com Inc.’s Go technology, but without the big expense of cameras, sensors and software.