If you shop at Whole Foods, you’re used to handing over a lot of money for organic goods. But are you ready to hand over your hand?
Today, Amazon announced that their Amazon One tech —a palm recognition service that can be used for identification and payments — will be used in all 500-plus Whole Foods Market locations in the U.S.
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“This means Whole Foods Market customers who choose to use Amazon One will no longer need their wallet or even a phone to pay—they can simply hover their palm over an Amazon One device,” explained the announcement. “For Prime members who link their Amazon One profile with their Amazon account, savings will automatically be applied. It’s that simple.”
Simple and maybe a little alarming? At first glance, it seems odd and disconcerting to hand over your handprint to Jeff Bezos. But if you’re like me, you used your face to unlock your iPhone to read Amazon’s press release, so maybe this is just one more small step toward our complete and total surrender to technology.
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The palm-to-pay tech isn’t brand new. Amazon began rolling it out in 2020 in its Go cashier-less stores and began slowly adding it to select Whole Foods supermarkets. After hitting a benchmark of 3 million uses, they decided to go big. (Speaking of big, will Amazon One register when you see your Whole Foods checkout bill and slap your forehead in shock?)
CNBC reports that paying with your palm is likely to become much more prevalent in the shopping universe. Amazon has reportedly closed deals with airport shops, sports stadiums, and concert arenas — and Panera Bread has already begun testing Amazon One. Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team, has been allowing fans to buy beer with their palms since May. That makes sense. Currently last place in the NL West, those fans need to get their alcohol as quickly as possible.
Here’s how it all works: