Is technology accessible to most people? 📱 Last week I went into our neighborhood Walgreens drugstore. 💊 It looked like it had been ransacked. 🛒 I asked the security guard why there were so many empty shelves, 👮♂️and he told me it was futile to restock because so many customers have “sticky fingers.” 🤏The toothpastes 🦷were in a locked glass cabinet, as if they were aged single malt scotch! 🥃 In Seattle, if a shoplifter is caught in the act, nothing can be done until they walk out with goods in hand. 🤷♀️Thefts under $25 are usually not prosecuted, so some shoplifters return day after day. 💸 A few years ago, Amazon created the “AmazonGo” store. A customer gains admittance by scanning the AmazonGo app on their smart phone, 📲which is linked to a credit card. 💳 Shoppers can go in and grab what they need, and when done, leave without a word. 🤫 Miraculously, all the stuff you put into your shopping bag 🛍️is charged automatically to your credit card as you walk out the door. It’s unnerving the first time, but I’ve found it works perfectly. It’s impersonal 👤but efficient, ⏳and Amazon avoids dealing with “sticky fingers.” Theft is factored into the cost of goods. 🍞🌭🍪🍒 A service like this could help every retailer that experiences shoplifting, but it would limit access to customers 🚫who have a smart phone, an app, and a credit card. At @alkisurfshop, 🏖️especially since the pandemic, it seems everyone from tweens 👩👦to older baby boomers 👩🦳use smart phones and plastic. Limited access is already in play at stores like Costco, 🍎🥐🍕which requires shoppers to have a membership or a gift card. What are your thoughts about theft both from the standpoint of the thief and the point of view of the store owner? 👨💻Should technology deepen the divide between the haves and have nots? What is the solution? . . . Photos: It’s #Caturdayeveryday #caturdaynight #mainecooncatsofinstagram #mainecoonlover4ever #silvertabbycat #greytabbycat #catbuddies #catinabox #catnapping shot by Charley. #technology #amazongo #stickyfingers . . . (at Central District, Seattle) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSi6kDrrb2n/?utm_medium=tumblr
