LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KERO) — Amazon has unveiled new technology at a Los Angeles area grocery store.
It's called just walk out and uses sensors and cameras to allow customers to do just that.
Many of the people who lined up outside the new Amazon Fresh store in Cerritos, Calif., early this morning were here for the same reason.
"To get a gift card from them, to help with my family with thanksgiving and stuff," said Rudy Lozano, a shopper.
Some gift cards were worth a hundred dollars. Others were only worth five, but that was still worth it for customers who are fed up with rising grocery prices.
"Everything is inflated and any extra money can help," said Marques Cross, a shopper.
The giveaways were a way for Amazon to draw shoppers in, and introduce them to their new just walk out technology.
This is the first Amazon Fresh store in California to use it.
"So, if you think about one of the most frustrating parts of our going to the grocery store, it's waiting in line when you're done. Unpacking all your stuff, putting it all back in your cart and starting all over again before you get to the car," said Jondolon Bush, Amazon Fresh district manager.
This store is equipped with hundreds of cameras and sensors on the shelves that track what customers take and charge their Amazon accounts without any checkout lines.
"I feel like I'm not going to be harassed or like, 'Oh my god, you're stealing,' if it's just like just walk out with it. It's going to be like a new experience," said Alex Salas, a shopper.
Most shoppers will check-in at the front of the Amazon store with their app, but there's another technology where all you need is your hand.
"It's called Amazon One, where essentially you can link your palm to your amazon account and you can wave your palm when you enter the store and that'll be your authentication. So you won't need your phone, you won't need your wallet. You literally pay with your palm," said Bush.
Amazon insists the technology isn't replacing people.
They hired hundreds of employees for this store. They just put them in different roles, helping customers navigate the system or filling online orders.
Shoppers are curious whether this will be the way all grocery stores are in the future.
