Amazon removes Just Walk Out from Amazon Fresh grocery stores, shifts to Dash Cart as smart cart shoppers spend 10% more
Amazon's Just Walk Out technology — originally deployed in Amazon Fresh large-format grocery stores — was replaced in 2024 with Amazon Dash Cart smart shopping carts after customer research showed large-store shoppers preferred real-time spending visibility. Dash Cart shoppers at Amazon Fresh spend 10% more than non-Dash Cart shoppers, with 98% customer satisfaction and over 80% repeat usage rates. Just Walk Out continues to expand in small-format third-party locations.
Background
Amazon built Just Walk Out technology starting around 2016–2018, originally for its Amazon Go convenience stores, where the "mission-driven" small-basket shopper (grab a few items and go) was the target user. Scaling to Amazon Fresh large-format grocery stores revealed a fundamentally different customer need: weekly grocery shoppers want real-time budget tracking and item location assistance, not just frictionless exit. This insight drove the format-specific strategic pivot from Just Walk Out to Dash Cart in grocery while accelerating Just Walk Out's expansion in smaller-format venues.
What Was Implemented
- Computer vision, sensor fusion, and generative AI track which items customers pick up from shelves
- Entry via credit card tap, Amazon app QR code, or Amazon One palm recognition
- Receipt generated automatically upon exit — no checkout interaction of any kind
- 140+ third-party locations globally (stadiums, airports, hospitals, campuses, entertainment venues)
- Smart shopping cart with integrated screen, cameras, and sensors
- Customers log in via QR code; items scanned automatically as placed in cart; produce weighed on-cart
- Real-time receipt display, savings tracker, item location maps, and personalized deals shown on cart screen
- Customers exit through Dash Cart lane — no register stop
- Uses same computer vision and sensor fusion technology as Just Walk Out
Results
Dash Cart shoppers at Amazon Fresh spend 10% more than non-Dash Cart shoppers. Over 80% of daily Dash Cart transactions come from repeat users. Dash Cart achieves a 98% customer satisfaction rating . Amazon is expanding Dash Cart to all U.S. Amazon Fresh stores and selected third-party grocery retailers. Just Walk Out metrics at third-party venues: Lumen Field (Seattle Seahawks, 9 stores) saw 85% more transactions and 112% more sales per game after deploying Just Walk Out. Delaware North's 12+ Just Walk Out stadium stores serve 20–30% more customers than traditional concession stands. Amazon is more than doubling third-party Just Walk Out deployments in 2024.
Lessons
- Store format and shopper mission should dictate the checkout technology: frictionless exit suits small-basket, time-pressured missions; real-time tracking suits larger, budget-conscious grocery trips
- Removing Just Walk Out from Amazon Fresh was not a technology failure — Amazon continued to expand it in venues where it fits customer behavior
- Giving shoppers visibility into their spending during the shopping journey (Dash Cart) drives higher basket size (+10%) and loyalty (80% repeat usage, 98% satisfaction)
- Deployment at scale (sports venues, airports) generates strong ROI when transaction speed is the primary bottleneck