Customers at the pair of Amazon stores near the retailer's HQ campus in Washington state, US, can show their palm for entry to the shop and again to buy goods, as part of the 'Amazon One' trial. "Just hover to enter, identify and pay", is the simple online description Amazon offers for its palm shopping experience.
Writing on his company blog, Dilip Kumar, vice-president of physical retail and technology at Amazon, said the company chose palm recognition because it is more private than other biometric technology, plus a user is required to purposefully flash their palm at the Amazon One device to engage. This is designed to be a deterrent against fraudsters.
“And it’s contactless, which we think customers will appreciate, especially in current times,” Mr Kumar added in his post.
The company expects to roll out Amazon One - which it describes as "the fast, convenient, contactless identity service that uses your palm" - as an option...