"No Lines, No Checkout, No Seriously, Just Walk Out Shopping" is Amazon Go's slogan but is it actually easy to use?
Amazon Go is a brick and mortar convenience store concept that uses machine learning, strategic placement of cameras and sensors, and an accompanying app to create a “Just Walk Out” shopping experience for customers. There are no check out lines - shoppers can grab the products they want to buy and go. A receipt of your purchases are sent to the phone application shortly after leaving the store.
The goal of this usability study was to assess the functions and processes that Amazon Go has designed to disrupt the convenience store space. Some of the research questions we aimed to answer include:
- What are improvement opportunities in the Amazon Go app to help users shop?
- How easily do users complete in-store purchases of products identified in the app?
- Does the application and store experience meet user’s expectations?
Method
The study had 3 sections that examined the pre, during and post shopping experiences. Participants were asked to perform 4 main tasks that spanned both the digital and physical aspects of the Amazon Go Store:
- Use the Amazon Go app to find 4 items you would normally purchase from a convenience store
- Find the 4 items identified in task 1 at the physical Amazon Go Store
- Buy items that keep you under a budget of $10
- Return one of the purchased items
Participants were instructed to follow think aloud protocol during their shopping tasks and were administered a pre and post task questionnaire to provide feedback on the holistic shopping experience.
Participants
The study consisted of 6 total participants who were urban dwellers and working professionals between 25 and 55 years of age that who live or work within a mile of an Amazon Go store location. Participants were also filtered for familiarity with on-demand apps such as Uber, UberEats, Grubhub, Postmates, etc and had limited or no prior experience with Amazon Go.
Potential participants were asked to take a screening questionnaire created in Google Forms and selected based on their consumer segment and how closely they aligned to the Amazon Go target customer profile. All participants were compensated for the items purchased during the usability study as incentive for their participation.
- Between ages 25-55 years old
- Owns and uses Android or iOS smartphone
- Has an Amazon Prime account
- Live or work within 1 mile of an Amazon Go location
- Familiar with and have used on-demand apps such as Uber, UberEats, Grubhub, Postmates, etc.
- Limited to no experience shopping at Amazon Go
Key Findings
There were no blocking issues, all participants were able to complete all tasks successfully without assistance. However, our study uncovered several primary usability issues. Below is a brief summary of the most important issues and our recommendations.
Application Integration: Aside from allowing customers entry and exit into the store and providing a receipt after purchases, the app was not useful and does not add any value to the in-store shopping experience.
Recommendation - Integrate the application with the in-store shopping experience by creating consistent categories of products within the store and the application, updating the application to continuously provide correct information about the products stocked in the store, allow for item tracking and provide a running total of cost while the user is in the store, among other improvements.
Inconsistant categories between app and instore signs
Bag/Baskets Within the Store: Users were frustrated by the lack of baskets within the store and confused about how to purchase a bag. Purchasing a bag required a different process than buying any other item in the store.
Recommendation - Add bag purchasing process tutorial to the information that appears when you initially download the application.
In store sign and in app cart for shopping bags
Refund Process: Users were confused by the refund/return process. Several users ended up choosing to contact customer support because they were not able to find information about the process.
Recommendation - Provide clear directions in the receipt which outline the refund process.
Flow of returning items in mobile app
Next Steps
During the usability study, our team was able to gain valuable insight into what our participants thought of the Amazon Go experience and observe how they interacted with the app and store. In addition to our recommendations above, our observations have identified two additional areas that we would recommend Amazon investigate further:
- Participant Profile – Initial screening provided us with participants we thought fit Amazon Go’s target customer (urban young professionals). However, after interviewing our participants we identified that most of our participants would not consider Amazon Go a substitute for their grocery shopping, but instead would be a substitute for local lunch options during a busy work day. We would recommend splitting our participant profile further into different segments such as casual and ‘grab & go’ shoppers.
- App Integration – At the end of each study, participants were asked whether or not they would use the app again (excluding for entry) if they were to return to an Amazon Go Store. 6 out of 6 participants said they would not because they did not see the value of it. Our recommendation would be for Amazon to investigate opportunities where the app can supplement the shopping experience beyond a ticket for entry and a digital receipt.