Amazon's Just Walk Out technology will be available this week for the first time ever in a full-size U.S.-based Amazon Fresh grocery store.

The store, at The Marketplace at Factoria, in Bellevue, Washington will open Thursday and customers will be able to skip the checkout line if they want or shop and purchase in a traditional checkout process staffed by emplooyees, according to an Amazon announcement.

Just Walk Out is a combination of computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning technologies. Anyone shopping at the new store can use the technology, which connects to customers' Amazon account or credit card. Customers are prompted at the store's entry gates to choose if they want to use Just Walk Out shopping or the traditional checkout lanes.

Customers who opt for Just Walk Out can enter the store in three ways: They can scan the QR code in their Amazon app, use Amazon One to scan their palm, or insert a credit or debit card linked to their Amazon account.

Inside the store any item taken off the shelf is automatically added to their virtual cart, and anything they put back on the shelf comes out of their virtual cart. At the end of their trip, customers shopping with the Just Walk Out experience simply scan or insert their entry method again to exit.

"Customers have enjoyed the effortless shopping experience enabled by our Just Walk Out technology at our Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Fresh stores in the U.K. and third-party retailer stores. The feedback has been fantastic, with customers noting that skipping the checkout allows them to save time and reduce contact in stores," Dilip Kumar, vice president of physical retail and technology at Amazon, said in the announcement.

Amazon initially introduced Just Walk Out shopping in its Amazon Go stores several years ago, and has expanded it to additional Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery stores and Amazon Fresh stores in the U.K., and also offer it to third-party retailers as a service for use in their stores.

The first Amazon Fresh store opened in August 2020 and Amazon has since opened 13 stores across California, Illinois and Virginia.

As of now there is no plan to offer the technology at Whole Foods, a grocery chain Amazon acquired several years ago.

"For now we're excited to see how customers like the Just Walk Out shopping experience at the Amazon Fresh store in Bellevue, and we'll go from there," stated the announcement.

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