Amazon Go might be another watershed moment for retail

Washington

AFTER months of tinkering, Amazon.com Inc has finally deemed its cashier-free convenience store ready for business.

Amazon Go, as the outpost is called, opened its doors to the public on Monday. The store is outfitted with cameras and sensors that keep track as you fill your shopping bag. You then exit through a gate without going through a checkout line. You get charged for your purchase in an app.

There's a decent chance this marks the earliest days of a dramatic shift in retail, one that calls for a fundamental rethinking of labour allocation, technology investments and how to approach customer service in stores.

So who is affected by this - and how? Here's a breakdown o…