Kansas City Indie to Feature Amazon’s Just Walk Out Tech, Amazon One

1st time that e-tailer’s solutions have been adopted by 3rd-party customer in U.S.

12/5/2022

Starting Dec. 16, a shopper will be able to enter Community Groceries, in Kansas City, Mo., by dipping their credit card at the entry gates, or placing their palm over an Amazon One device.

Independent retailer Community Groceries has joined forces with Amazon to offer Just Walk Out technology and Amazon One in a Kansas City, Mo., grocery store for the first time, starting Dec. 16. It’s also the first time that Amazon has expanded both technologies to a third-party customer’s grocery store in the United States.

“Amazon’s technologies change the way we think about shopping,” said Alyssa Groenig, director of sales and marketing for Community Groceries, which has the goal of providing healthy options in underserved communities. “I, like most people, have a very full schedule, and grocery shopping is a tedious task for me. This new experience will enable me, and all of our guests, to shop efficiently and be on our way, with no checkout lines and no hassle.”

A shopper can enter the store by dipping their credit card at the entry gates, or placing their palm over an Amazon One device. Once the shopper is inside, the technology detects what they take from or return to the shelves in the store. When they’ve finished shopping, they’ll be able to just leave the store while the credit card that they inserted or linked to their Amazon One ID will be charged for the items they took. With Just Walk Out tech, anything a shopper takes off the shelf is automatically added to their virtual cart, and anything they put back on the shelf comes out of their virtual cart.

“We are thrilled to work with Community Groceries to unlock a fast and frictionless experience for their shoppers in Kansas City – one we believe they’ll enjoy very much,” noted Dilip Kumar, VP, AWS Applications. “Community Groceries is renowned for encouraging healthy lifestyles and focusing first and foremost on their local community, so we’re honored to have them as our first customer in the grocery vertical to launch a Just Walk Out technology- and Amazon One-enabled store.”

Besides its own Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods locations, the company has provided the solutions to convenience stores at various sports venues, most recently at Bridgestone Arena, in Nashville, Tenn.

Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.