14 DAY TRIAL // Amazon might have a drone delivery project and a video-game console in the cards for the future, but the retailer giant also has a tamer plan in mind, one which involves point-of-sale systems.
According to information reported by The Verge, the company is apparently in the process of designing a Kindle-centric checkout system that might arrive on the market as early as this summer.
The system is not unheard of and has been implemented before, but introducing itself in the physical retail environment would mean a great deal for Amazon. For starters, the online shopping giant will get to have access to a clearer picture of customers’ habits.
Apparently, the Kindle system is being built by former engineers of the San Francisco based start-up GoPago, which has been acquired by DoubleBeam.
One scenario for this new venture is Amazon offering merchants Kindle tablets and credit-card readers. On top of that, the tech giant is prepared to offer other services too, like providing help with website development and data analysis.
As I have said, the system has been implemented before, but it wasn't really a success, so that makes us wonder whether Amazon’s endeavor is not doomed from the start.
Back in 2012, Square, which designs point-of-sale systems based on Apple’s iPad, struck a deal with coffee giant Starbucks to deploy the scheme, but it didn't catch on.
The switch from traditional checkout systems wasn't smooth as expected, as other factors were brought into the equation, including costs and time spent re-training employees.
But according to the original report, Amazon is aware of Square’s insuccess, so it doesn't plan to aim too high, at least for starters. To begin with, the retailer giant will start pushing the Kindle checkouts to small businesses, strategy which gives Amazon a quick way out in case everything turns out to be a failure.