No tills? No problem, as Amazon opens 'contactless' UK grocery store

Amazon on Thursday launched its first "just walk out shopping" outlet outside the United States, as the online retail giant steps up its competition with traditional supermarkets and other retailers.

Customers at Amazon Fresh in Ealing Broadway shopping centre in west London queued outside the black and green storefront under social distancing measures to be first to use the convenience store which has no checkouts.

The outlet, according to Amazon, is the "first convenience grocery store to offer just walk out shopping in the UK" and its "first physical shop and grocery store outside of the US".

To use the new outlet, customers have to download an app and then scan a QR code before an electronic gate swings open and allows them to browse a range of Amazon-brand products.

On its opening day, a team of assistants, dressed in vibrant green jackets -- the same colour as the grocery shop's colourful branding -- were on hand to explain how the system worked.

Once they have bagged their items, customers don't have to show a card or let anyone know, they simply walk out.

"It was really strange, it felt like I was a criminal, because I was just taking things and putting them straight in my bag," 71-year-old Ealing resident Philippa Dolphin told AFP.

-'You just walk right out'-

"But apparently there are cameras watching me. And then you just walk out! It didn’t seem right but I was assured it was okay!" she added.

Amazon has said the store, which is similar to 20 Amazon Go outlets in the United States, uses "deep learning" algorithms -- technology which allows machines to learn by themselves -- with cameras and sensors to tell what customers have picked up.

"It automatically knows what you’ve got in your basket and when you leave the shop it charges you and bills you automatically into the account you have set up," said Erica Ely, a 57-year-old local resident, holding her purchases on the street outside the shop.

Benjamin Rogers, 31, a sales manager who lives in the area, stopped in to buy ingredients for a cake and said the speed of shopping at the Amazon store made it appealing. 

"I think the major advantage is the fact that sometimes when you go to the supermarket you can do your shopping and then it can be a five-, 10-, 15-minute wait to pay for your goods at the end" he said.

"This is just a simple way to cut through and walk out and finish your job."

Matt Birch, a former Sainsbury's executive who now leads Amazon Fresh Stores UK, said the brand which is also used for online groceries in the UK has looked to make the experience "as convenient as possible".

-'Reversing the trend'-

"We recognise that UK customers want to shop in a convenient way so we really think they will appreciate being able to walk in and walk out with the shopping they need," he added.

Amazon, which was already growing in Britain before the pandemic and competing with a struggling retail sector, has seen its position strengthen since the outbreak and months of closure for shops deemed non-essential.

Shopper Mark Lloyd said it was "interesting" that Amazon was moving from online into "bricks and mortar retail business". 

"It is kind of reversing the trend for e-commerce and digital shelves, so it is quite unusual in that respect," the 58-year-old creative director said.

Despite the ease of her shopping experience, Dolphin said she was somewhat troubled what about the arrival of the Amazon shop would mean in the long term.

"I am a bit worried that it is going to put other businesses that I use out of business. So yes, I am a little bit concerned because they are such a giant," she said.

Agence France-Presse

Mega sardines seeks to raise lockdown capacity to meet demand

MANILA -- Canned sardines maker Mega Global said Thursday it was working to increase capacity to meet heightened demand during the Luzon lockdown.

Mega is transporting employees to its plant in Zamboanga to raise capacity to 75 percent from 50 percent, said its founder, William Tiu Lim.



The company's plant in Valenzuela City north of Metro Manila is helping the company meet demand in the region, he told ANC.

"We are looking at ways and means to get more people coming in so capacity will be bigger," he said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Thailand to close malls as coronavirus cases jump to 422

BANGKOK - Thailand announced it will close malls in the capital Bangkok as the country reported its largest daily increase in coronavirus infections on Saturday.

Malls, except for supermarkets, will be closed for 22 days beginning March 22 to April 12 in a bid to curb the outbreak of the coronavirus, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said in a statement.

"For malls, only the areas that sell food and goods that are used in daily life, will be open,” Aswin said in a Facebook live broadcast.

Long queues and crowds of shoppers were seen at a grocery store in downtown Bangkok with their carts full of dried goods, food and medicine.

The governor asked the public not to panic and hoard goods.

“Please don’t be alarmed, I guarantee that you will be able to buy food and goods sufficiently,” he said.

Restaurants will be open for takeout orders and pharmacies will also remain open.

The measures come as Thailand reported 89 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, bringing its tally to 411, with the majority of cases in Bangkok.

The new cases were linked to earlier infections from a boxing match, an entertainment complex and a religious gathering in neighboring Malaysia, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a Public Health Ministry spokesman, said.

Boxing stadiums, beauty salons and arcades were also included in the closure announcement.

Those found violating the order face up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 100,000 baht.

Bangkok will also extend the closure of schools and bars for another 22 days.

Budget airlines also began suspending service.

Thai AirAsia is temporarily suspending its international flights from March 22 to April 25.

Thai Lion Air on Friday said it would suspend international and domestic flights from March 25 to April 30.

Of the patients infected, 366 are currently being treated, while 44 have recovered.

Thailand has reported one death in the outbreak.

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Startup delivers groceries in self-driving cars

SAN FRANCISCO -- Startup AutoX on Monday announced the Silicon Valley debut of a service that will turn self-driving cars into mobile grocery shops summoned with a touch of a smartphone application.

The service will kick off this month in parts of the California city of San Jose in a partnership with e-commerce company GrubMarket.com which sources food from producers as well as retail shops such as Amazon-owned Whole Foods.

"We're very excited to launch the first autonomous grocery delivery and mobile store service in the heart of Silicon Valley with self-driving vehicles on the road,” said AutoX founder and chief executive Jianxiong Xiao.

"We believe self-driving car technologies will fundamentally change people’s daily lives for the better."

The AutoX application can be used to place grocery orders to be delivered in cars designed to keep produce chilled, according to the startup.

Customers uncertain of what they want in advance will also be able to have cars pull up and open windows so they can browse selections, AutoX said. A human back-up driver will be on board as required by local regulations.

AutoX vehicles rely on high-resolution camera gear instead of more costly sensors and laser arrays for navigation.

The grocery delivery and mobile store pilot program will roll out in San Jose, then expand to Google's home city Mountain View and Palo Alto, where Stanford University is located.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Wal-Mart profits fall as it ramps investment to fight Amazon

NEW YORK - Walmart updated investors Thursday on its latest new gadgets and time-saving pickup options to lure shoppers to stores and away from arch-rival Amazon.

The good news? The company's array of investments in e-commerce, store beautification, low prices and higher employee pay are indeed driving up store traffic.

The bad news? Profits are down.

Walmart US, the biggest division at Wal-Mart Stores, scored a 1.8 percent rise in comparable sales in the second quarter compared with the year-ago period, its 12th straight quarter with positive sales in the closely-watched benchmark.

Revenues rose 2.1 percent to $123.4 billion.

But net income fell 23.2 percent to $2.9 billion. Factors included more aggressive spending on e-commerce and low price investments, as well as costs of $788 million connected to a one-time debt payment.

Executives expressed confidence in Wal-Mart's strategy and highlighted an especially strong performance in the US grocery business, which experienced the biggest jump in five years, in part due to price inflation in meat and produce.

Wal-Mart holds the biggest share of the US grocery market of any retailer, with its network of nearly 4,700 stores that the company says are located within 10 miles of about 90 percent of the US population

But Wal-Mart is girding for a more direct head-to-head battle with Amazon with the tech giant's impending purchase of Whole Foods Market.

"Amazon are a really strong competitor," said Wal-Mart US chief executive Greg Foran in a conference call with reporters. "We've got a good strategy. I'm comfortable with what we're doing."

"Obviously we're keeping an eye on what a strong competitor is doing," he added.

New tech-oriented initiatives include the expansion of a program that lets consumers pick up online orders to more than 900 locations, up from 670 in the prior quarter.

Consumers are also able to reorder their most frequent purchases with a few quick clicks and can utilize automated "pickup towers" to receive goods after scanning in a barcode.

Shares of Wal-Mart fell on the report, ending down 1.6 percent at $79.70.

Although the earnings bested analyst expectations, investors were "a bit disappointed" with some of Wal-Mart's third-quarter profit forecast, said a note from Briefing.com

But the decline also reflected a pullback after Wal-Mart gained 11 percent over the last month, Briefing.com added.

"We note the decline in net income, but believe that some short term erosion is necessary as the business invests in its future," said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail.

"In our view, Walmart is a demonstration that traditional businesses can survive and thrive in this era of retail if they are prepared to adapt and evolve."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Amazon deal seen as disruptor of grocery business

NEW YORK - Amazon's deal to buy Whole Foods Market injects even greater pressure into the food and grocery sectors at a time when e-commerce is already roiling retailers.

The tech giant's $13.7 billion acquisition of the upscale, niche grocery chain was described as a seismic event by industry analysts, despite Whole Foods' relatively small size.

The deal prompted jokes and semi-serious posts on Twitter about a space-age shopping era with Amazon's artificial intelligence program Alexa replacing cashiers and ordering drone deliveries of kale.

Joking aside, the purchase will mean a serious disruption: rather than a brick-and-mortar store getting into e-commerce, in this deal an online behemoth will be moving onto Main Street, and in one fell swoop acquiring more than 450 stores in the US, Canada and Britain.

It also is expected to hasten existing efforts by grocers to make shopping more smartphone-ready, sell more private label and specialty foods and overcome the hurdles of home-delivery of groceries.

Amazon's strong record of keeping prices low adds pressure on supermarket chains that may be forced to consolidate to cut costs in a bid to keep up.

That could in turn spur mergers among large food manufacturers that feel compelled to negotiate with heftier clients.

ANTITRUST CONCERNS

"It's a big deal because of Amazon and what Amazon can bring to the game," said Joe Agnese, analyst at CFRA Research.

"Amazon is thought to bring change and an acceleration of change, and so having the presence of Amazon there may lead to a faster moving push into food delivery and lower prices."

Analysts generally praised the deal as a smart buy for Amazon, but not everybody was applauding.

"Government antitrust enforcers should block this merger," said Barry C. Lynn, director of the Open Markets Program at New America, a Washington think tank.

He warned that Amazon already exerts dangerous influence "over America's markets for books and music, and is fast consolidating control over other key flows of information and ideas."

"This private corporation already dominates every corner of online commerce, and uses its power to set terms and prices for many of the most important products Americans buy or sell to one another," Lynn said. "Now Amazon is exploiting that advantage to take over physical retail."

Whole Foods accounts for just 1.2 percent of the US food and grocery market share, while Amazon has just 0.2 percent, according to research firm GlobalData Retail.

The biggest player in the fragmented market is Wal-Mart with 14.5 percent, with Kroger second with 7.2 percent.

The deal further cements Amazon's remarkable rise from an online bookseller of the 1990s to a seller of broad-based goods with mastery over supply chains and logistics, a dedicated group of subscribers through its Prime program and an increasingly honored creator of original entertainment.

Amazon's revenues have grown from $34 billion in 2010 to $136 billion in 2016.

HURDLE OF HOME DELIVERY

Amazon did not elaborate on the strategic rationale for buying a grocery chain, but analysts said the acquisition has the potential to strengthen its ties to consumers through its Prime program.

Amazon already does some grocery deliveries through Prime and some other programs, but has the chance to boost home deliveries of Whole Foods' "365 Everyday Value" products and potentially "transform the physical retail experience" through checkout-free shopping, according to JP Morgan Chase.

That push also will reverberate through the broader industry.

Companies like Wal-Mart Stores and Target have had success with "click and collect" programs, where customers order goods on their cell phone and pick them up curbside.

But home delivery of goods has proven to be a big hurdle due to costs and the difficulty of selling meats and other perishables.

"The thinking is it's a very complex area that everybody's been testing and trying to make something work, but they haven't been able to figure it out and that Amazon, now they're here, they can make it work," Agnese said.

"That's the fear that Amazon is going to beat everybody and do it better than everybody."

Wal-Mart, Kroger and others already have seen profits pinched by stepped-up investment in e-commerce, store remodeling, higher wages and low prices, as they try to win customer allegiance and keep shoppers coming back.

New competition from Amazon will "exert margin pressure on everybody else and force everybody to be innovative and consolidate," Agnese said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com