New Amazon Go store attracts convenience seekers in the Loop

Chicago’s new Amazon Go store, marketed as “just walk out” shopping, drew curious downtown workers and passersby with its novelty and cashier-less convenience on Monday, its first day of business.

To shop, customers first had to download the Amazon Go app — a process made easier with free wi-fi provided by the company.

Quiana Stone, who works downtown at DePaul University’s Loop campus, prepared for her visit with a co-worker by looking online at the store’s lunch offerings. She bought a salad and dessert through the app.

“Right now, it’s a rush just because today’s the first day,” Stone said. “There was a lot of hustle and bustle.”

With the app, customers connect with their Amazon accounts, scan into the store with a barcode, take their items and walk out — potentially without having to interact with a store associate. Computers and sensors track what items are removed from the shelves, and customers are billed after exiting.

For opening day, about a dozen orange-shirted staff members helped customers navigate the store and answered questions about how the process works.

“It will be interesting to see a few months now down the road once the hype” dies down “and you just have your regular shoppers, how much staff is on hand,” Stone said.

The store, 113 S. Franklin St., is the first of its kind outside Seattle, where Amazon employees have been testing the concept at three locations.

Co-workers Nicole Chick and Mary Moravec said buying a couple of kombuchas was simple and quick.

“It didn’t seem too weird when it was actually happening until I realized when we walked out that we hadn’t checked out with anybody,” Moravec said. “It was different from normal, but it was very easy.”

“I thought it was a little weird to know a sensor was tracking us,” Chick said.

Amazon Go is stocked with snacks common to convenience stores, fresh produce, a range of drinks and prepared meal options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Entrees cost $7 to $9; sandwiches run $5 to $8.

The store also features products from local companies, such as coffee from Fairgrounds and salads from Farmer’s Fridge. By the afternoon, some items already were out of stock.

Moravec said she found the ready-to-go-cook dinners attractive to pick up on her way home. The meal kits, which cost around $18, come in portions for two and are meant to be ready in 30 minutes.

In compliance with the city’s checkout bag tax, there were paper and reusable bags for purchase, but customers could just walk out with purchases in hand.

Jor-el Morales, visiting Chicago from Albuquerque for work, went in to buy a Coke and said this sort of technology and shopping experience was the future.

“That’s the world we live in,” Morales said. “It’s convenient for sure. It is kind of weird, but my kids won’t know any different.”

Morales added he would love it if there was an Amazon Go in New Mexico; meanwhile, he said, he will shop at the Chicago store again.