Online giant Amazon is looking to expand the reach of its automated bricks-and-mortar Amazon Go offer by opening stores in airports, according to a report by Reuters. The retailer’s Go stores utilise myriad cameras which are able to identify customers as they enter, see what they pick up and leave with, and subsequently charge the customer’s Amazon account without the need for any staff interaction – a natural fit for customers needing to get from gate to gate in a short amount of time.
According to emails obtained by Reuters, Amazon requested a meeting with staff from several airports, including Los Angeles International and San Jose International, referencing Amazon Go as “one of many possibilities we can discuss”.
Beyond the meetings, which took place in June, officials from both airports confirmed they have had no further correspondence with the business, and that it would need to undergo a competitive bid process in order to acquire the locations necessary.
The move would put Amazon in front of the more than 350 million people who boarded flights from the country’s top 12 airports last year, according to data from the US Department of Transportation.
Amazon has been slowly expanding its physical retail offering through numerous Whole Foods, seven Amazon Go stores, and three reviews-driven Amazon 4-star stores, spread across the US, though efforts to bring these offers internationally are reportedly heating up.
Telegraph UK has learned that Amazon is planning to open an Amazon Go store near Oxford Circus in London, with the location serving as a flagship store for the UK.