Amazon has been forced to start accepting cash in one of its “cashless stores”, amid growing criticism that the format discriminates against poorer customers and those without bank accounts.
Amazon’s latest Go store, the first in New York and 12th in the world, opened its doors on Tuesday.
Unlike the other 11 Amazon Go stores, in Seattle, San Francisco and other West coast locations, where customers are tracked around the shop and automatically charged on leaving, the New York site will let customers pay for their purchases with cash.
The decision to accept cash comes amid a growing backlash against “cashless” systems, which some argue discriminate against those without bank accounts.
Speaking earlier this year to CNBC, in response to a question about “discrimination and elitism” at its stores, Amazon’s senior vice president of physical stores, Steve Kessel, had said “additional payment mechanisms” were being considered for the sites.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Although more people are switching to digital payments, with the number of transactions made using cash falling from six in ten a decade ago, to three in ten today, there are still people who are unable to go completely cashless.” data-reactid=”22″>Although more people are switching to digital payments, with the number of transactions made using cash falling from six in ten a decade ago, to three in ten today, there are still people who are unable to go completely cashless.
A report released earlier this year suggested that, in the UK, around eight million adults would struggle to cope with a digital-only system. It is thought around two million people use physical cash for all their payments.
In the US, Philadelphia has passed a law banning cashless stores, and other cities, such as Washington, New York and Chicago are considering similar legislation.
It is not clear whether Amazon will start accepting cash in its other stores, or if its upcoming slate of stores will be entirely “cashless”.
Amazon is thought to be currently looking at sites in London’s West End, as the location for one of at least 3,000 it reportedly wants to open within the next three years.
It has currently not opened any Go stores outside the US to date, having first started work on the concept almost six years ago and trademarked the “Go” brand in the UK in 2016.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The Sunday Telegraph late last year revealed the planned West End store would likely be between 3,000 to 5,000 square feet in size. The company is understood to be looking at smaller side streets in the area, rather than Oxford Street or Regent Street.” data-reactid=”35″>The Sunday Telegraph late last year revealed the planned West End store would likely be between 3,000 to 5,000 square feet in size. The company is understood to be looking at smaller side streets in the area, rather than Oxford Street or Regent Street.
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