What's after Amazon Go Grocery?

With the launch of Amazon Go Grocery this week, there is a lot of excitement about using the cashierless technology on a larger scale, rather than just for small, convenience stores.

Here is a look inside the new store from CNBC.

But I think we could foresee this development happening, couldn't we?

After all, the things we already knew:

?? Amazon are a clever company that are always looking to push the boundary and learn more.

?? They've been pursuing the grocery market for a while and Whole Foods only felt like part of the picture. Natalie Berg and Miya Knight's book (entitled "Amazon") explains this really well - it's really around the frequency of visit and how important food is to overall retail.

?? Fruit and veg really need no packaging, consumers like the ability to choose and with our current focus on sustainability, it would be unusual to create a big range of packaged produce. So loose produce was a challenge they needed to overcome.

?? The Go concept has been around for a few years now (I know! The first store opened in 2016 and they'd been working on it for 4 years by that stage). You know they will have learnt a lot in the process.

?? It's safe to assume that it must work reasonably well as they continue to expand to more stores. Plus, they're masters at creating a ruthlessly consistent operating model.

? It is fair to assume that the solution can be scaled with cloud power (and they're rather good at this already!).

So, given that this development was predictable if you looked at the above, what else could we discover for the future?

So what is next?

This conjures up some important thoughts looking at what's next for this. But what do we know already and what does this suggest about the future:

We know that Amazon's infinite range online can confuse and overwhelm customers. In their 4 Star store, whilst I haven't been, some of the criticism that I've heard was that the range wasn't curated with care. But with their experience in the Go stores so far and with ongoing analysis of how customers choose fast-moving grocery, expect them to level up their range and curation skills quickly.

We know they've seen a lot of success with FBA and with sponsored products / ads. So, will we see them replicate this into stores. Selling premium shelf space is common in the grocery market. But will this be expanded to all space? Will it be more flexible and agile than the standard agreements that are struck between FMCGs and grocers?

We know other retailers are trialling, experimenting and working on cashierless alternatives. So, with other options on the market, will we see Amazon start to license out their "Go" as a service?

We know Ocado are growing and we know Walmart (and others) are investing heavily in online grocery shopping. Amazon's current Pantry offering seems weak at present and doesn't appear to be exciting people. You'd have to assume Amazon will be interested in changing and transforming their online offering too, wouldn't you? So, how will grocery online shopping this be blended in? (Clue, their next big trial store in California will include in store fulfilment, powered by robotics). How long until we see home deliveries within the hour to combat Ocado, Walmart and friends?

(Pic from HNGRY blog)

We know Amazon have been recruiting franchise drivers with Amazon branded vans and uniform. So, you'd expect this could form a part of a future proposition too.

We know they've been trialling drones too. But in my mind, drones can't have a huge reach if they're also to be productive, so they'll need a good network of pick up points... What happens on the roof of a future Go Grocery store I wonder...

We know Alexa. I'm sure our shopping habits and data will be well mined to be able to do better voice shopping of our preferred and favourite brands.

We know they're working on healthcare projects too. With more pharmacies in large supermarkets now, it's not a massive leap of faith to think of pharmacies in an Amazon supermarket too. With secure home delivery. By drone. Maybe.

We know that the Go camera systems can be fooled. So, expect to see this tighten up as more "holes" are exposed with bigger baskets, more customers and more complex shopping trips and buying decisions.

The scope and scale is big. But you have to look beyond the current setup at where it is going - and why Amazon are so relentless at chasing after your grocery shop.

Is this what we really want?

In the retail industry, we regularly talk about the importance of customer touchpoints and service.

But the Go model would look at eliminating more of these touchpoints in the pursuit of frictionless. So, is this what we, collectively as consumers, actually want - especially for bigger shopping trips? It's getting close to time to actually decide...

And that could ultimately be the real test at play.

So what?

And most importantly, so what? What are you actually going to do about this? How will you react? Is it right for you to be moving into this space or are you going to hang on until it's tested a little more?

Amazon have been looking to grow into the food market for a little while now - and it really feels like they're only just getting started...

What do you think? What's the future of Amazon in the grocery market? Comment below and share your thoughts or share other intel that I've not included.

About the author: Oliver Banks

Many retailers struggle to deliver transformation. I help retail businesses to successfully define and deliver their change and transformation programmes so the vision is realised and the business overcomes adversity.

You probably know that the retail industry is changing and many retailers haven't been able to adapt quickly enough. Competition is fierce, so it's essential to transform quickly and effectively. But, without the key skills, it's easy to make mistakes, wasting time and money.

I'm a retail change and transformation specialist and help medium and large retailers to effectively programme manage their important change and transformation programmes through to success.

I also host the Retail Transformation Show podcast - available to listen to, for free, in your favourite podcast app.