Retail giant Amazon is making plans to open 30 new checkout-free stores in the UK – where customers can purchase items via the app, scoop them up off the shelves and walk straight out.
The Amazon Go shops, which are promoted as having the ‘world’s most advanced shopping technology’, have already been launched in the United States – and executives are now looking to roll them out across Britain over the coming months.
According to The Sunday Times, as many as 10 of these queue-less stores will open in the country to start – with Amazon in talks to open 20 more in due course.
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Amazon Go stores use ‘Just Walk Out Technology’ – which tracks products on shelves and automatically organises inventory by adding purchased items to virtual carts.
Customers can simply order in advance, pluck their chosen item from the shelves, and exit the store without having to go to a till.
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There are currently 26 Amazon Go shops open in the US – including New York, Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco.
The first UK store is expected be in London – with execs cutting the red ribbon before the end of 2020.
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Other UK locations are yet to be revealed, but Amazon is aiming to place them close to transport hubs.
This will enable busy commuters to pick up products on-the-go.
MarketWatch reported that Amazon has become the go-to eCommerce website during the pandemic – with sales up 40% to $88.9 billion.
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Amazon has recruited for more than 175,000 new jobs since March to handle increased demand and global distribution.
Back in January, the retail giant also announced it would be opening a corporate office in Manchester city centre.
News
Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre
Daisy Jackson
Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
The Manc -
3rd August 2020 
