4 tech innovations giving Amazon an edge in grocery

Amazon is at a grocery inflection point, battling Walmart and Instacart for ecommerce dominance in the US. While each has its own strengths, Amazon’s ecommerce background gives it a leg up in tech. Here are the top four tech innovations giving Amazon that advantage:

Smart cart’s jump start: Amazon’s Dash Carts aren’t yet widespread, but their combined sensors and digital screen offer Amazon an edge in omnichannel retail.

• “I see it as not only a vessel of facilitating [Amazon’s technology], but also sort of bridging the gap between the customer’s online Amazon Fresh experience and their in-store shopping experience,” said our analyst Blake Droesch on a recent “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.

In-store retail media mogul: The specifics of Amazon’s retail media strategy haven’t been laid out, but the company’s ecommerce power up has massive in-store potential.

• Retail media isn’t new for grocery chains, but the digitization and personalization potential offered by Amazon could usher in a new era.

Just walk out enters the mainstream: The tech has been the butt of dystopian jokes, but for Amazon, cashierless checkout monitored by smart technology is the future of in-store shopping.

• Amazon is “years ahead” of consumers in terms of tech, argued Droesch. As consumers become more comfortable with consumer surveillance, Amazon will have already perfected its innovations.

Store analytics step up: Amazon can monitor consumers’ literal path to purchase in stores. High-quality analytics present a major opportunity for personalizing customer messaging.

• “This is going to absolutely transform everything about retail in general,” said our analyst Andrew Lipsman.
• Store analytics tie a bow on Amazon’s other technology to give it and its advertisers discrete information about consumers. “I think it’s going to absolutely revolutionize everything,” said Lipsman.

Listen to the full podcast.

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