Amazon owned Whole Foods Market is continuing to step forward and stand out in the grocery technology arena. After debuting their Amazon One palm-recognition payment system in Whole Foods Markets in Seattle, Austin, New York City and Los Angeles, Whole Foods Market has begun a full rollout of the unique option to their more than 65 California locations.
Amazon One is a palm-recognition payment machine, which uses algorithms and hardware to scan an individual’s palm “signature,” providing a quick, contactless way to pay for goods. To use this feature, customers enroll at special kiosk or device in the store with this feature. The registration process takes less than a minute. First the customer inserts their credit card, then the palm is scanned and then the card is paired with the palm “signature.” One or both palms can be registered.
Amazon One was introduced at Whole Foods Market – Madison Broadway in Seattle in Spring 2021, followed by Whole Foods Market stores in West Seattle, Interbay, Westlake, Kirkland, Lynnwood, Roosevelt Square and Redmond, Washington. A year later, the Whole Foods Markets in Austin, Texas implemented the system. In May, Whole Foods Market in California – Silverlake and Playa Vista – rolled out the option to their patrons, as well as Whole Foods Market – Manhattan West in New York City.
Amazon One is of the varied technological advances Amazon has introduced to the grocery shopping experience. At Amazon Fresh, the “Just Walk Out” is available to shoppers upon entry, when they can scan a QR code in the Amazon mobile app. First introduced at Amazon Go convenience stores, “Just Walk Out” uses overhead vision camera, weight sensors and deep-learning technology to interpret what customers take from or return to shelves and is compiled into a virtual cart. Also, at 16 of 40 Amazon Fresh locations is the Amazon Dash Cart, a device which, like One and “Just Walk Out”, was created to expedite the payment process. The Dash Carts are “smart” shopping carts where, once logged in the individual’s Amazon account, uses computer vision algorithms and sensors to identify items placed in the cart, can total and process payment.