A recent report in Business Insider said the coffee chain giant and internet retailer are looking to create self-checkout sections in Starbucks stores that would be powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology.
According to other reports following up on the rumor, Business Insider got a hold of an internal Amazon communication revealing plans for the joint Starbucks and Amazon operation.
A story by Gizmodo mentioned that the internal document showed a rendering of an “automat-style café” that looks like a Starbucks “with vending machines containing Amazon food.” Insider said the collaborative store “was to develop a unique brand.”
Just Walk Out permits customers to enter a location by scanning an app and, when they finish selecting their goods, to exit conveniently without standing in a checkout line. A JWO market is equipped with cameras and sensors that track what items shoppers pick and charges them when they leave. The opportunity for Amazon would be to offer its self-checkout technology to retailers outside its own stores, like a Starbucks.
A Starbucks-Amazon pairing would reportedly work with Amazon’s touchless checkout app, which would require customers to sign up for an Amazon account.
