Amazon is currently in talks to make the technology behind its cashierless Go stores available to other parties, such as retailers in airports and cinemas.
Diversification
By ‘sharing’ the technology with third parties, Amazon wants to decrease its reliance on online shopping and to form partnerships with companies that would normally be its competitors. This cooperation may in turn lead to the further growth of Amazon’s cloud business, CNBC reports. Moreover, it would mean that there was no longer a need for the e-tail giant to build its own (expensive) stores.
Amazon currently has sixteen Go stores where customers can buy products by scanning their phone, without the need to pay at a checkout. The company now intends to put the technology behind this concept into practice and is said to have already held discussions with OTG (airport shops) and Cineworld (cinemas). The aim is to start installing the technology at the beginning of next year, so that by the end of 2020, hundreds of these stores should then be using the cashierless technology.
Business model
In terms of delivering the technology, there is a choice of different business models open to Amazon: the company could ask for a percentage of the turnover of the stores, or work with a fixed monthly fee. It is also not yet clear which app customers will use to shop in these stores.
None of the three parties involved want to comment on the reports for the time being.
