Amazon to open cashier-less store in San Francisco

Brace. Amazon will open cashier-free stores in San Francisco and Chicago, brick-and-mortar grocery spaces that eliminate the need for checkers of the human variety.

Christened Amazon Go, the dystopian retail establishments work like this: Shoppers gain access to the stores via smartphone app. Once inside, every movement and every step is tracked and absorbed by the Amazon eye. Human bodies are allowed to move around and take whatever they fancy from store shelves—e.g., ready-to-eat meals, wine, salads, candy—and walk out. Cameras and other advanced technology keep track of the items and charge the humans specimens after they leave.

It’s as simple as that. Many naysayers argue that, if successful and copied worldwide, Amazon Go will help put cashiers out of a job.

According to The Seattle Times, Amazon posted job listings today for store managers at upcoming locations in Chicago and San Francisco. While no official location has been announced, San Francisco Chronicle notes that the tech mammoth purchased space in Union Square.

The first Amazon Go store opened in January in Seattle.

The two new stores will open later this year; no word yet on an exact date.

• Amazon Go’s cashier-less stores are coming to Chicago and San Francisco [The Verge]
• Amazon Go — a cashierless version of 7-Eleven — is expanding to San Francisco and Chicago [Recode]
• Amazon Go cashier-free store could be headed to SF’s Union Square [Chronicle]
• Amazon Go targets Chicago, San Francisco for new stores [Seattle Times]