Amazon Fresh till-less store: Is this the future of shopping?

Image source, Amazon

Image caption, Users must scan a QR barcode on their smartphone as they enter

Ever wanted to go to the shop and not have to queue?

Well, customers at a new till-less grocery store in London won't have to.

Shoppers at the Amazon Fresh store, which opens on Thursday 4 March, scan a smartphone app when entering and are automatically billed as they leave.

It's Amazon's first "just walk out" shop outside the US.

And they aren't the only company using technology to change the way we shop. Read this to find out!

Till-less supermarkets

Image source, Amazon

Image caption, Visitors can buy a bag or use their own, and are emailed a copy of their receipt after leaving

London's new Amazon Fresh store will stock hundreds of own-brand items as well as products from other companies like Morrisons and Booths.

Customers can also collect and return Amazon goods bought online.

So how does it work?

Visitors only have to place an item in a bag or carry it out to be charged by the store.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Amazon tracks each customer as they move around the shop

The shop has hundreds of cameras and depth-sensors to track customers, as well as software developed using deep-learning artificial-intelligence techniques.

However, it does not involve facial recognition.

The technology was first used in Amazon Go stores in the US, which opened in 2018.

Since then, the company has improved the technology so the system can cope with customers selecting from different bouquets of flowers, magazines and greetings cards - it could not distinguish accurately enough between one choice and another before.

Image source, Amazon

Image caption, Much of the technology involved is located in the ceiling

When customers arrive at the store, they identify themselves by scanning a barcode displayed on their phone in the Amazon Shopping app.

There have been concerns raised over privacy issues and the data collected when tracking its customers.

The company has said it will only hold information collected in-store with a customer's Amazon account for up to 30 days.

Robot helpers

Video caption, WATCH: The UK town where robots are on the streets (2019)

While till-less stores might excite some of you, companies have also been inventing cool new ways to get goods to you whilst you hang out in the comfort of your home.

Milton Keynes may seem like a typical British town but there's a big difference - small robots deliver groceries, parcels and takeaways to people living there.

Cameras and sensors mean it can travel safely along paths and roads and take items to where they need to go.

Milton Keynes was the first place in the UK to get the service, which is now being tried out in London as well.

Image source, Kiwibot

Image caption, The Kiwibots have digital faces on them too!

Lots of other companies are using robots on wheels too.

A supermarket in France is testing out delivery robots at their store in Paris and Kiwibot delivery robots have been rolling around the University of California, Berkeley, campus for several years.

Drone deliveries

Image source, WING

Image caption, Tech allows the drones to fly safely and avoid trees and houses on its route

In 2019 drones started flying food to people in Finland's capital city, Helsinki. The company behind it, Wing, is owned by Alphabet, the same company that owns Google.

The same drones are already delivering ice cream, doughnuts, coffees and other food to people in Australia's capital city, Canberra.

Image source, Amazon

Image caption, Amazon has also been trialling drones which can deliver packages to people's front doors

Deliveries on legs

Image source, Ford/Agility Robotics

Image caption, Digit is a two-legged robot that can climb stairs like a human

Car company Ford teamed up with Agility Robotics in the US to work on something that looks more like you'd imagine when you hear the word 'robot'.

Digit is a two-legged robot that looks a bit like a human and is designed to walk, lift packages and go up and down stairs like one too. It can react to things like being bumped without losing its balance or falling over.

Digit comes inside a driverless car that brings your delivery to your address. It then gets out and brings your parcel right to your doorstep.

What do you think of the future of shopping? Let us know in the comments below.