Amazon Go readies for launch as Shanghai’s MobyMart makes the rounds

SEATTLE and SHANGHAI — As Amazon prepares for the wide launch of its Amazon Go service, Forbes is highlighting a similar concept in Shanghai, MobyMart, which is a remotely driven mobile store that allows members to board the vehicle, scan their items using the app and be on their way.

The MobyMart mobile store such products as lunch, snacks and over-the-counter medicine, and allows for customers to order such products as electronics for pick-up at nearby full MobyMart stores. The vehicles also come with a drone that can deliver to customers within a three-mile radius and are able to tell warehouses when they are low on stock.

The company behind MobyMart, Wheelys, projects that the MobyMart vehicles — which are set to be completely driverless by next year — will cost about one-tenth the cost of building a full store. To read the Forbes report click here.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Amazon has recently posted a recent job listing that has raised speculation that the online giant plans to roll out its checkout-free convenience store concept, Amazon Go, soon. The job listing  seeks a senior real estate manager for Amazon Go, based in Seattle and including travel.

Amazon posted a laundry list of executive responsibilities for the job. These include: developing and executing a strategic real estate plan; site selection and acquisition; developing relationships with key landlords, developers, and brokers; and collaborating with architecture, construction, and engineering teams.

Amazon Go debuted in December in Seattle,  in a beta format open only to Amazon employees. (It was expected to open to the public in early 2017, but its opening has been delayed.) The 1,800-sq.-ft. store is powered by what Amazon calls “just walk out technology," which allows it to be completely free of any type of checkout.

Shoppers click on the new Amazon Go app as they enter the store, and hold their smartphone to a scanner similar to an airport security line.  Every time the customer picks up an item, it is automatically added to their virtual cart. (If the shopper puts the item back on the shelf, the item is automatically removed from the cart.) Once the customer leaves the store, their purchase is billed to their Amazon.com account.