Amazon Opens First Grab And Go Grocery Store

Discussion in 'Shopping & Sales' started by Babs Hunt, Dec 6, 2016.

  1. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/05/reut...ocery-store-in-challenge-to-supermarkets.html





    Though many people may see this as a convenience, many other people will see this as losing their job and standing in the unemployement line.

    The more they develop technology that can do away with people, the more that technology will be adding to the problem of unemployment not only in America but around the World. And that is not a good thing.
     
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    Last edited: Dec 6, 2016
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  2. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I think that this is the direction that many stores will probably go in the near future. Sam's Club also has this option, it is an app called "Scan and Go". With the app, you scan in the items as you load them into your shopping cart, and then pay for the purchases through the app.
    Somehow, you then get a receipt (maybe that part is digital also ?) and then you just show the receipt as you leave the store.
    It sounds as though Amazon has taken this one step further, by making even the scanning step unnecessary.
    Many grocery stores, such as Kroger, Sam's Club, and Walmart Grocery also have online shopping, where you can do your shopping online, pay for it, and then just drive by the store and pick everything up. It is all loaded into the shopping cart and waiting for you, so you do not have to wander around the store picking out your groceries if you do not want to, or are unable to walk around and do this.

    http://www.thv11.com/news/local/sams-club-unveils-scan-and-go-mobile-app/339884684
     
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  3. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    Even Walmart has self-checkout lines where you scan, bag, debit or credit, and go. Yet all this advancement is just replacing peoples' jobs and we already have a big problem with unemployment. Maybe these tech advances are helping to put more money into the pockets of the Owners, but it leaves people without jobs or money to support their families, etc. To me it is no different than sending jobs overseas...people are still left with no job and this is not a good thing for them or our Government. Because if there are no jobs for people, they will be looking to the Government for assistance in the form of food stamps, Medicaid, help with housing, etc. We need to make more jobs for people not take them away with technology.
     
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  4. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    My brother hates computers. He says that they have taken away jobs from people. Well, for one thing, I've seen his fingers and they are short/stubby, which, for some folks, makes using a keyboard hard. He also never learned to type. His fingers are the right shape for what he loves to do......fairly hard/physical labor. When he worked in the heavy equipment area for the State of PA., he was a supervisor and had his own office and secretary. He told me, "90% of the time, I would be in the garage helping the mechanics. I didn't wear office attire, so didn't have to worry about getting my clothes dirty. I had my secretary do all of the computer work and I would just sign my name to paperwork."

    My fingers are long/thin and hit the keys fine and I also took 3 years of typing in high school. My typing speed is In the range of 70 wpm and I can use the 10-key on the computer keyboard pretty good as well. Way back when, I remember having to type out my resume on an electric typewriter. I also remember doing Inventory Control on 3 x 5 cards and typing out Purchase Orders on an electric typewriter. During my working years, if a person didn't know how to use a computer, they didn't get the job.........end of story! I started using a computer in 1989 and was a pretty fast learner in using one.

    As far as my brothers comment about taking away jobs, I would have to say......."I don't think so!!". The old type Drafting was with plastic squares and other crap. I took a class of Drafting in high school and completely failed. Now, Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) is more my thing. And, CNC Machines went from manual labor to being run by computers.

    No wonder my brother and I don't really get along that well. He likes "yesteryears" and I like "today".
     
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  5. Patsy Faye

    Patsy Faye Supreme Member
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    Self scan in supermarkets hasn't taken off here, so I would be surprised if Amazon does well with this
    We'll see ..................
     
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  6. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    We have a big problem with unemployment because a certain number of folks don't have a college degree or even high school diploma. Some of those unemployed people want a nice salary, without the experience and/or education.
    People want the "self-checkout" so they don't have to stand in a long line at a regular checkout.

    Or, should I say, "there is a reason for everything and all changes".
     
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  7. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    Not everyone is going to have a college degree @Cody Fousnaugh and not every job needs a college degree either. But what is needed is a job for all that need them, college degrees or not! :) Companies are replacing people with technology because they do not want to pay people to work for them but they do want people to pay them for their products. Replacing people with technology is only going to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. And in the end we all will lose..because sooner or later there will be no one who can afford the products because they don't have a job or therefore the money to buy anything. It will end up being a lose lose situation for all of us.
     
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  8. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Sorry, just don't see it that way!
    If it weren't for my wife's major college degree (Bachelors), she sure wouldn't be making the salary she is. I really wish I would've stayed in and got a degree.

    A lot of people live the way they do for different reasons that technology hasn't got anything to do with.
     
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  9. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    We certainly are entitled to our own opinions @Cody Fousnaugh and I respect yours even though I don't agree with yours either. There are those I know that make a great salary with a College Degree, and there are many I know that don't have anything but a High School Education who work in the Oil Field, Construction, and as Mechanics, etc and make great salaries too. I'm sorry you have regrets about not getting a degree....if you feel that strongly about it maybe you could still work on getting one. :)

    I do agree that a lot of people live the way they do for different reasons and that technology doesn't have to have anything to do with those reasons.
     
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  10. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    I actually think in many ways that computers have opened up more jobs for a lot of people. And I love my laptop which has a touch screen as well as a keypad. I also took typing so I have no problem with using the keypad, and I like using my touch screen as well. Computers opened a whole new world for me so this is definitely technology that I am happy to have and that has benefited my life in so many ways. I used to have to spend so much time at the Library because of my enquiring mind that just craves learning. Now "knowledge" is right at the end of my fingertips. :)

    Technology is a good thing...but just like everything else it can be used for good or for the not so good. Putting people in the unemployment line is a not so good use of technology in my opinion.
     
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  11. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Way to late to go back for a degree now, but 20 or so years ago it would've been different. Also, for some jobs today, an employer can require a college degree and/or a certification. Years ago I didn't need a certification to drive a forklift, be a Veterinarian Asst. or work in Purchasing (of which I've done all three). Boy has that changed! Construction jobs back when didn't need much education, but today many construction workers have to go thru an Apprenticeships to get hired.
     
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  12. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
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    This is going to be a hacker holiday. Once they figure it out stealing goes hi tech.
     
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  13. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    We are unlikely to get a brick-and-mortar Amazon store near me, but Walmart, BJ's, Sam's Club, and several other box stores are really pushing their self-checkout. BJ's often has only one regular staffed check-out open, while they have several self-checkouts, no doubt encouraging people to opt for the self-checkout. I refuse to use a self-checkout. For one thing, it's an obvious move to replace employees by having the customers do the work, and I resent that. For another, the few times that I have tried it, there is always one thing that won't scan and requires assistance anyhow, so I complain when they are refusing to open regular check-outs. It's only a matter of time though, and as more states (like Maine) pass high minimum wage laws, there will soon come a point where these jobs will be lost.
     
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  14. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
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    I guess if you wanted to be a crook you could scan some of the bar codes and make you own sticker to go over the stickers on the product and after the company has lost enough money they might start hiring people again. Thank goodness I don’t have a crooked mind set.
     
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  15. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Most of the stores here do have a self-checkout lane, and sometimes more than one. I have used these before; but I was not comfortable doing it, and prefer having a cashier to check my purchases.
    I think that the idea of being able to order online and then just drive to the store and pick up your purchases can be a great thing, especially for people who have mobility issues, or for people who just have time limitations.
    We always see the loaded carts with people's names on them when we shop at Sam's Club, and I sometimes see them at kroger or Walmart as well.
    Most of the time, I enjoy shopping and picking out what I want to buy, especially for fresh foods and produce; so we have not tried the online shopping.
    Sam's Club also has an app that you can use in the store, and you simply use your smartphone to scan the barcode of whatever you put into your cart. I think that when you do this, you bypass the checkout line altogether, and just stop on the way out to have the purchases checked with the receipt. I am not sure whether you just have a digital receipt for this, or maybe the store prints out a regular paper receipt for you.
    The Amazon idea takes it even one step further, and you do not even have to scan the barcodes when you want the item, you just load it into the cart.
     
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