![]() We exited smoothly through the Just Walk Out turnstiles, paying with a palm scan. An associate said almost everything was being weighed by hidden scales that can identify the moment something as light as a bag of potato chips leaves the shelf. Hundreds of cameras watched our every move. Amazon has launched Just Walk Out at two Whole Foods so far, one in Washington, D.C., and one in Los Angeles.Īmazon wouldn't give CNBC an official tour, so we tested the Washington store on our own. But in March, one customer - Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheatre - backed out of a deal after activist groups and musicians like Rage Against the Machine voiced concerns that Amazon would share palm prints with government agencies.Īt Whole Foods, the palm-scanning devices are a key part of another tech solution that allows checkout-free shopping. "When you start using biometrics for payment, people, rightly so, are concerned about that and how those biometrics are being used," Goldberg said.Īmazon is also selling the palm-scanning tech to other retailers and event venues. It's available at more than 20 Whole Foods locations, with 65 more stores in California coming onboard soon. A device scans your palm, triggering a charge to your Amazon account. In 2019, it banned plastic straws and minimized other plastics by introducing new types of produce bags and rotisserie chicken containers.Ĭhanges have come quickly, but the transition hasn't all been smooth for Whole Foods' workforce.Ī year after the purchase, a group of Whole Foods staffers emailed thousands of fellow workers with a list of takeover-related grievances, including the removal of some stock options and "constantly being asked to do more with less resources and now with less compensation." Some workers tried to unionize under the large Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, but those efforts have stalled.įor shoppers, the most visible change to stores is the technology inside the doors.Ĭustomers can now enroll their palm print with Amazon One to pay without a card or phone. Whole Foods said it's also enhanced the standards for canned tuna, eggs and chicken. It prohibits things like hydrogenated fats, high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners, and meat must be free of antibiotics and added hormones. Since the Amazon deal, Whole Foods told CNBC it's more than doubled its list of banned food ingredients, bringing the total to more than 250. While some of the hot food bars, free samples and specialty chef counters went away during the Covid pandemic, Whole Foods says they're back.Īs it scales up, Whole Foods insists it's committed to keeping products local and clean. There's also a new accelerator program for local producers to earn a spot on the shelves of local stores, and certified training programs to turn hundreds of Whole Foods workers into accredited cheesemongers and butchers. "They're probably doing a better job because of the personalization algorithms." "Going into a Cupertino store is a very different experience, versus walking into a Los Altos or Los Gatos store in the same Northern California region," said Guru Hariharan, a former Amazon software development manager who now runs e-commerce management company CommerceIQ. Amazon uses its data tools to help determine what brands get sold in what stores. Whole Foods says the model gives flexibility for smaller brands to remain in a few stores instead of having to supply products companywide. Operational changes and suppliersĮach region has teams of full-time "foragers,'' who look for new local products. Here are some of the key differences in the Whole Foods of today from the company that Amazon acquired in 2017. ![]() Outside of the food business, Amazon recently shut 68 stores, including all Amazon Books, 4-star and Pop Up shops. That marks a change from the prior few years, when Amazon's physical stores lagged the overall retail business. Revenue at its physical stores climbed 12% in the second quarter, while online sales dropped. "It surprised me."īuechel takes over at a pivotal time for Amazon, which is jumping deeper into the world of in-person retail, with a focus on groceries. "When you have the kind of culture clash that I imagined John Mackey and Amazon had, it's really impressive that John stayed around in a leadership position as long as he did," said Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer at advertising firm Publicis. 1, succeeding colorful, polarizing co-founder John Mackey, who was once described as a " right-wing hippie." Operating chief Jason Buechel steps into the lead role on Sept. Next week, Whole Foods gets a new CEO for the first time since its founding in 1980. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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