---
title: "Seattle Times: Amazon Unveils ‘Self-Driving’ Brick-and-Mortar Convenience Store"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/e80ffa00-90de-452f-b4c9-391c9bff697a
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/seattle-times-amazon-unveils-self-driving-brick-and-mortar-convenience-store-8235
category: "C-store & fuel"
industry: "Retail"
segment: "C-store & fuel"
published: 2016-12-05T16:11:02.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:14:11.731Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/e15ceb5b80a451df92a499d10eb52925543.jpg
---

# Seattle Times: Amazon Unveils ‘Self-Driving’ Brick-and-Mortar Convenience Store

**TL;DR:** Amazon has unveiled a brick-and-mortar convenience store in Seattle with 'Just Walk Out technology' that allows shoppers to scan their phone and leave without checking out. The store, called 'Amazon Go', is currently only available to Amazon employees and is set to open to the public in early 2017.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-12-05. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/seattle-times-amazon-unveils-self-driving-brick-and-mortar-convenience-store-8235).*

## Story

Amazon has come up with yet another way to turn the retail industry on its head. For a long time, there’ve been discussions about how Amazon was keeping consumers at home, making it more and more convenient to shop online. Now, Amazon is doing what seems like a complete 180, creating brick-and-mortar locations, reports Seattle Times. The first store is in Seattle, where Amazon’s headquarters are located.

So what sets apart the Amazon brick-and-mortar location? They’ve implemented a new technology, which they call “Just Walk Out technology.” According to Amazon, the technology is very similar to that of self-driving cars.

When a shopper walks in the door, they scan their phone from their Amazon app. From there, they do their shopping as usual, but then just leave without waiting in lines or even needing to check out. All purchases are charged to shoppers’ Amazon accounts.

The stores are being called “Amazon Go.” Currently, the Seattle location is only available to Amazon employees, as they’re in a testing phase. The store is slated to open up to the public in early 2017.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Retail (sector)
- Amazon (company)
- Seattle (location)
- convenience store (topic)
- retail technology (topic)
- brick and mortar (topic)
- Seattle Times (regulator)
- amazon go (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/seattle-times-amazon-unveils-self-driving-brick-and-mortar-convenience-store-8235). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/e80ffa00-90de-452f-b4c9-391c9bff697a).