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Business / World Business

Amazon mulls building physical stores in London

Published: 27 Jan 2019 - 08:06 pm | Last Updated: 08 Nov 2021 - 03:56 am
People enter the newly opened Amazon Books on May 25, 2017, in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

People enter the newly opened Amazon Books on May 25, 2017, in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

Kelly Gilblom I Bloomberg

Amazon.com Inc. is considering building physical shops in London and across southern England, as the online giant seeks to expand its Retail presence, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

The stores will sell items such as ready-to-eat food and meal kits and will be connected to its Amazon Go app, the report said. Amazon already has similar physical stores in Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco.

The Retailer didn’t immediately respond to an emailed message seeking comment.

Such shops have drawn attention because of an unusual feature -- the store can detect what items customers leave with, meaning they never have to check out at a till.

"Our checkout-free shopping experience is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning,” Amazon says on it website.

The online giant selected a real estate agent in October, according to the Daily Mail. The stores will be built in London or counties including Surrey, Kent, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Middlesex, it said.