Amazon Go to reportedly launch in London’s Oxford Circus

They’re already a competitor to British high street chains, but Amazon is apparently set to fight directly against supermarkets and greengrocers in the UK, with the launch of an Amazon Go shop in London.

The giant has reportedly targeted a location near Oxford Circus in London as not only their first foray into the United Kingdom for Amazon Go but to become the flagship shop for the country. With over a mile and a half of shops, Oxford Street is Europe’s busiest shopping street but only has one remaining pub. The street is home to the flagship Topshop, John Lewis and HMV stores.

Amazon Go is a “cashier-less” shop in the US, that relies on sensors and cameras to identify what customers take or put back on the shelves. When customers leave, they are billed automatically by Amazon for what they’ve taken, instead of having to scan items. Amazon opened the first Go store in Seattle nearly three years ago, and plan to launch 3,000 in the next two to three years.  

Amazon’s high-tech approach to shopping may seem like a futuristic design that could catch on in the same way that self-service checkouts did in the last couple of decades, however it’s not without its complications: the flagship Amazon Go store in Seattle is said to have cost $1,000,000 to set up, and many are concerned with the impact Amazon Go may have on retail staff.

Amazon Go is just one of a few ventures that the company have made into physical shops. Amazon bought Whole Foods last year, promising special discounts for Prime members in certain stores in America, and in September this year, they opened a 4-star shop in New York, which sells items available on the retailer’s online platform, which have a 4-star rating or higher.