Difference Between Amazon Go and Walmart

In 2018, Amazon launched its first Amazon Go store and marked the beginning of a new retail era, a whole new shopping experience where shoppers could walk in, grab the stuff they want, and walk out without worrying about cash registers. As of today, there are around 20 stores operated by Amazon throughout the U.S. with plans to open as many as 3,000 stored by 2021. Now, Walmart amped up its game and launched its own version of the Amazon Go called the Intelligent Retail Lab, or the IRL. However, it’s nothing like the Amazon Go. Let’s take a look how.

What is Amazon Go?

Amazon Go is a chain of Amazon’s new revolutionary convenience stores which uses a new-age technology called ambient intelligence in a business environment. It’s a chain of brick-and-mortar stores operated by Amazon which makes shopping easier than shoplifting. At Amazon Go, once you’ve finished shopping, you can simply walk out without stopping by any cash registers. Amazon Go is touted as the world’s most advanced shopping technology where you can just walk in by simply identifying yourself at the gate using your mobile, just like scanning a barcode at the airport. The stores are partially automated so you don’t need to stand in long queues: you just grab the stuff you want and walk out with no checkout required unlike in a traditional retail store where you have to self-checkout. The store charges your Amazon account and the receipt is available in the app. It uses the same technology found in self-driving cars, such as AI, computer vision, facial recognition, machine learning, and deep learning.

What is Walmart?

Walmart is the undisputed leader of the U.S. grocery industry accounting for over 50 percent of all sales. Walmart first started selling online in 1999, only a couple of years after Jeff Bezos launched Amazon. The reason Walmart went online was to create a hybrid shopping experience for its valuable customers. To compete with Amazon Go, Walmart opened its new retail store based on the concept of AI and moved into the brick-and-mortar space with its own model called the Intelligent Retail Lab, or IRL. Walmart launched the IRL in 2018 in Levittown, New York. The IRL is designed to test the use of AI in retail stores. It works like Amazon Go but lacks any futuristic user experience. Although, the IRL provides a unique real-world shopping environment by deploying cameras and sensors and by leveraging computer vision and deep learning software in order to bring hassle-free online experiences into stores.

Difference between Amazon Go and Walmart

Model 

– Amazon Go is a new retail business model by Amazon to provide a cashless shopping experience through their new AI-powered Amazon Go stores. It is basically a chain of brick-and-mortar stores operated by Amazon located in the United States. Amazon opened its first store in Seattle in 2018 and as of today, the company owns and operates around 20 stores. The Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL), on the other hand, is the Walmart’s version of Amazon Go which is designed to test the use of artificial intelligence in retail stores.

Dominance

 – While Amazon and Walmart are the two largest retailers in the world, Walmart undoubtedly leads in the physical space arena while Amazon dominates the online retail space. Walmart has been around since decades before Amazon and they actually have a physical advantage thanks to their thousands of stores. The online sales of Walmart showed a significant growth in 2018, but the numbers are still far below Amazon, which accounts for nearly fifty percent of all the online purchases.

Innovation

 – Amazon Go uses the same technology found in self-driving cars, such as AI, computer vision, facial recognition, machine learning, and deep learning to provide a hassle-free in-store shopping experience without even stopping by any cash registers. At Amazon Go, once you’ve finished shopping, you can simply walk out, and the store charges your Amazon account. The IRL also provides a unique real-world shopping environment using cameras and sensors and by leveraging computer vision and deep learning software to provide a great user experience. However, the IRL has no automated checkout feature like Amazon Go, instead it tracks inventory in real-time to make sure every stuff is always in stock.

Amazon Go vs. Walmart: Comparison Chart

Summary

Though, Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, Amazon dominates the online space and its innovation includes more areas of the business. The best example of Amazon’s innovation and success is Amazon Go, which is touted as the world’s most advanced shopping technology, providing a cashless shopping experience with no checkout required. The company advertises it with, “No lines, no checkout – just grab and go.” The Intelligent Retail Lab is the Walmart’s answer to Amazon Go but it’s nothing like Amazon Go, not by a long shot. Although, the IRL has no automated checkout feature, it tracks inventory in real-time to make sure every stuff is always in stock.

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