The launch of Amazon Go triggered a fresh wave of transformation in the retail industry, driving companies to prioritise retail automation.

Now that Amazon has entered the physical retail space, bricks and mortar retailers are eager to build up technology arsenals fit to compete. In addition to securing their territory, retail companies are also looking to trim labour costs and enhance the customer experience with automation. Their enthusiasm is shared by start-ups looking to provide retail technology. In each of the past two years, venture capitalists in the U.S. invested $100 million in retail automation start-ups, up from about $64 million in 2015, according to Pitchbook.

“There’s a gold rush feeling about this”, said Alan O’Herlihy, Chief Executive of Irish firm Everseen, which provides automated checkout technology.

The retail industry has embraced technology in the past. Store technologies, such as self-checkout kiosks, were commonplace long before Amazon Go was hatched. What’s different now is the intensity of the competition. For many, the Amazon Go beta launch in January was a wakeup call. “Unanimously, there was an element of embarrassment because here is an online retailer showing us how to do brick and mortar, and frankly doing it amazingly well”, said Martin Hitch, Chief Business Officer of Bossa Nova Robotics, which makes inventory management robots.

Retailers worldwide are experimenting with various types of store automation, using technologies such as computer vision and facial recognition to monitor inventory and enable automated checkout. China in particular is a hotspot for retail automation, the New York Times reports, with many Chinese retailers avidly experimenting with new retail technology. A number of venture-backed start-ups have already opened unmanned convenience stores in China, including chains like BingoBox.

China’s mammoth online retailer Alibaba has opened 35 of its own Hema automated grocery stores, where customers can shop both online and in-store. Hema stores were first introduced in 2015. JD, another big internet retailer in China, said it has partnered with a developer to build hundreds of convenience stores. Both companies plan to sell their retail automation systems to other retailers.

In the U.S., Walmart is testing Bossa Nova robots in 50 of its 4,700 American locations. The robots patrol store aisles, checking price tags and making sure shelves are stocked. At 120 Walmart stores in the U.S., shoppers can scan and pay for items with their smartphones. Grocery chain Kroger has been testing a mobile scanning service in its stores, and recently announced it will expand the program to 400 of its more than 2,700 stores. Target and Lowe’s are also testing robots in stores for performing routine tasks such as scanning shelves.

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