Amazon.com Inc is considering a plan to open as many as 3,000 new Amazon Go cashierless stores in the next few years, Bloomberg has reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shares of US supermarket chains Kroger Co and Target Corp fell between 1 and 2% following the news. Amazon shares were down about 1%.
US Expansion
Amazon currently has four Amazon Go stores in operation; three in Seattle and one in Chicago.
The Amazon Go store, which has no cashiers and allows shoppers to buy things with the help of a smartphone app, is widely seen as a concept that can alter brick-and-mortar retail.
Customers have to scan a smartphone app to enter the store. Once inside, cameras and sensors track what they pick up from the shelves and what they put back. Amazon then bills shoppers' credit cards on file after they leave.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
