Research brief
Just walk out stores — the future of shopping? Examining configurations of reasons for and against consumer adoption
Simon Hazée, Arne De Keyser, Bart Larivière, Yenee Kim, Arash Talebi & Ivan Gordeliy · Psychology & Marketing (2025)
In one sentence
Shoppers weigh five reasons to use checkout-free “just walk out” stores against seven reasons to avoid them; and when they see enough benefits, especially skipping the checkout, those benefits can outweigh their concerns.
Why this matters
In a just walk out store, shoppers enter with a smartphone app, take what they want and simply leave; cameras, sensors and AI charge their account automatically. Since Amazon Go popularised the concept in 2018, retailers worldwide have launched their own versions. Yet consumer uptake has been mixed: at the time of our study, only about a quarter of US adults had used such a store and more than half showed little interest, and Amazon closed several of its Go stores while other retailers kept expanding. Retailers need to understand what makes shoppers embrace, or reject, this format.
What we did
We combined two studies. Rather than looking at each reason in isolation, we examined which combinations of reasons lead shoppers to like and intend to use just walk out stores, or to reject them.
Study 1
60 in-depth interviews
With students and staff at a European business school where a just walk out store had just opened. What are the reasons for and against?
Study 2
Survey of 546 UK consumers
None of whom had used such a store yet. Which combinations of reasons drive adoption or rejection?
What we found
Shoppers weigh both sides, and the two sides are not mirror images. We identified five reasons for and seven reasons against using just walk out stores (listed below), several of which earlier studies had not uncovered. Concerns are not simply the absence of benefits: a shopper can value skipping the queue and still worry about privacy or getting help.
Enough benefits can outweigh the concerns. Shoppers who perceive all five benefits like the format and intend to use it, even when they also hold strong concerns. When concerns are absent, a smaller set of benefits is enough.
Skipping the checkout is the cornerstone. Fast, hassle-free payment and easy access (location and 24/7 opening) are the core drivers of a positive attitude. On the other side, the fear of having no one to help is the core concern.
Rejection follows a recognisable pattern. Shoppers who turn away do not see the checkout-free advantage and, at the same time, worry about the technology failing, the lack of customer support and their privacy.
Reasons for and against at a glance
5 reasons for
Why shoppers walk in
Access convenience: convenient locations, open 24/7
Transaction convenience: no queue, no scanning, no paying at a till
Search convenience: small stores where items are quick to find
No need for interaction: no talking to staff or other shoppers
Limited social judgment: no one watching what you buy
7 reasons against
Why shoppers stay away
Technology reliability: fear of wrong charges or getting stuck
Entry inconvenience: downloading an app and linking a card
Payment unease: loss of control, limited payment options
Customer care inconvenience: no one to help when something goes wrong
Privacy: feeling watched, worries about personal data
Contamination: small, crowded spaces with no one cleaning
Assortment: limited choice and empty shelves
Key takeaways for retailers
Communicate the full set of benefits. Most retailers advertise one or two (no checkout, 24/7 opening). Highlighting all five (including easy product search, no need to interact and no feeling of being judged) can win over shoppers who still have doubts, provided the store delivers on them.
On a tight budget, show off the checkout-free experience. Demonstrate how fast and hassle-free it is through in-store demonstrations, in-app tutorials or targeted campaigns.
Remove barriers, starting with customer care. Benefits alone are not enough to change shopping habits. In-store staff or a virtual help desk can reassure shoppers that someone will help if something goes wrong.
Answer each concern with a targeted fix. For privacy, for example, make cameras less conspicuous and add app features such as two-step verification. Some concerns, like empty shelves or cleanliness, are about store operations rather than the technology itself.
Think in combinations, not single factors. No single reason predicts adoption on its own; use the list above as a checklist to understand your own customers.
Keep in mind
The interviews involved a relatively young campus population, and the survey covered UK consumers only; reasons may differ across cultures and age groups. The survey measured intentions to use just walk out stores among people who had never tried one, not their actual shopping behaviour, and it captured a single point in time. We also studied the most advanced form of the concept (app entry, automatic charging); simpler versions may raise different reasons.
Citation: Hazée, S., De Keyser, A., Larivière, B., Kim, Y., Talebi, A., & Gordeliy, I. (2025). Just walk out stores—The future of shopping? Examining configurations of reasons for and against consumer adoption. Psychology & Marketing, 42(4), 987–1017.
