Just Walk Out is an artificial intelligence technology that lets customers put items off shelves into their carts and then walk out of the store. It then emails customers their receipts after they've left.
Dash Cart is a system that allows customers to scan each item before placing it into a smart cart that tallies prices and savings on a mounted screen. The carts have scales for items priced by weight. Customers can still check out with a cashier or self-checkout lanes if they wish.
Amazon announced on Tuesday that it is changing from Just Walk Out to Dash Cart in all its Amazon Fresh Locations due to customer reviews of the two systems. According to USA Today it will not affect its Amazon Go stores or "the more than 130 third-party retailers that Amazon partners with for use of its 'Just Walk Out' technology at such locations as airports, college stores and cafes."
Retail Dive, quoting The Information, a tech industry newsletter, reports that the AI technology behind "Just Walk Out" may not be as smart as it claims since people in India monitor the shopping activity in the "smart carts". This is an interesting controversy that Amazon is pushing back on, but it might be another reason for the switch to Dash Carts.
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