Amazon Looking to Have 3000 Amazon Go Stores Internationally by 2021

Amazon is contemplating that by 2021, it will open a whopping 3000 of its cashierless stores around the globe, according to a report it released on Wednesday last week.

That being said, Amazon’s aggressive entrance into the retail business is proving serious competition, and perhaps even the potential death of thousands of fast-food chains and convenience stores across the US.

Amazon Go

At the current moment, there are three cashierless locations opened and owned by Amazon. There is one located in Seattle, and which also happens to be where the headquarters of Amazon is. There is also a location in Chicago that opened on Monday last week.

That being said, the whole premise behind the automated grocery stores is that there will be no registers, no checkouts, and no lines.

All customers will have to do is simply scan the Amazon Go apps as they enter the spaces, which are estimated to be about 2000 square feet, select their choice of item, and leave the building.

When queried regarding the plan for 3000 cashierless stores, one of Amazon’s spokesperson said that the company does not comment on any speculations or rumors.

That being said, after the report was released, the shares of companies such as Target, Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS experienced a slight decline in their market value.

Gaining Momentum

At the current moment, Amazon Go stores are only focusing on grab-and-go items as their primary items of sale, which include the likes of granola bars, yogurt, salads, and sandwiches.

However, in some locations, the company has experimented with selling the likes of meal kits.

Additionally, the company is planning to open about 10 more Amazon Go locations by the end of 2018. Content from the report also shows that the Amazon is planning to have 50 more shops in metropolitan areas such as New York and San Francisco by 2019.

That being said, the issues and logistics springing forth from opening so many of these Amazon Go locations cannot be ignored.

For starters finding prime real-estate might be a problem, despite the fact that many store closures have been taking place in different parts of the country.

Moreover, by analyzing the fact that the first Amazon Go location in the area of downtown Seattle cost over $1 million in terms of hardware, it’s crystal clear that expenses will be a serious factor for Amazon to analyze.

One Major Problem That Amazon Go Might Face

Despite the traction that Amazon Go is getting, one has to remember one psychological truth. That there is a big difference between retail shopping and retail buying.

For all its splendor, you have to remember that Amazon Go is an app, and ideally, still a store in its simplest form. All a consumer does is walk in, grab what he or she desires, and then leaves the store. Such an app would be a perfect innovation if it was used say 50 to 60 years ago.

However, the fact that e-commerce (a shopping genre that was literally built the ground-up by Amazon) is part and parcel of daily life, makes no sense for the company to fall back to the traditional shopping genre.

Even Amazon’s history says it all. Back in the late ‘90s, what Amazon did so beautifully is that it recognized the advantages of separating the psychologies of retail buying from retail shopping, and tapping aggressively into that market.

In the ‘90s, consumers traditionally bought their desired products in the same places they shopped because the online option was yet to gain traction.

However, the e-commerce boom came along and the inconveniences brought about by lack of choice slowly shriveled away.

No longer were you disappointed by a certain selection because you could find no other, or the fact that what you wanted in stock could no longer be found. Instead, you had the ability to accurately describe what you wanted, and it would be promptly delivered to your doorstep.

That being said, the concept of Amazon Go would only make sense if this was the ‘60s, whereby the main objective would be to improve the experience of retail shopping, which was at its peak in those times.

The innovation of the 21^st Century is something that Amazon Go might not be able to compete with. However, as is the notion with all new things, only time will tell.