Amazon’s Just Walk Out Couldn’t Be Better

Earlier this year, UC San Diego’s Housing Dining and Hospitality Department made headlines by announcing that three on-campus markets would feature Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology. At Roger’s, Sixth, and Seventh Markets, students can bypass the forced human interaction at checkout and instead just grab their items and walk out the door. All they need to do is click the Just Walk Out option on their Triton2Go dining app and scan the QR code to enter the market. Payment types remain the same: Dining Dollars, Triton Cash, or their credit card.

It sounds simple, but how has reception for this change been among students?

You may be shocked to realize that the reception for Just Walk Out has been overwhelmingly positive. Some students, whose names will not be revealed in this article, have slyly hinted that they have been severely undercharged each time they made a purchase. Sixth Market in particular seems to yield the most consistent undercharges, because so many students go there everyday.

Other students, whose names definitely will not be revealed in this article, are tempted to tip workers because Just Walk Out makes students feel like they are stealing every time they walk out.

Halloween would have been the best day to shop at the markets, considering how Just Walk Out has had trouble identifying people when their facial features are obscured. Some costume ideas that have been circulating include: a clown, an elf, a Jack O’Lantern, the I-have-an-8 AM look, and Jeff Bezos. Of course, I for one am not encouraging people to dress up for the sole purpose of confusing facial-recognition software. You should dress up because Halloween isn’t just for kids—it’s for the Irish, too!

If there are any drawbacks to Just Walk Out, it would be that not all markets on campus are using this technology yet. However, in order to promote student welfare, HDH should urgently implement Amazon’s checkout technology at every market location. Personally, I am eagerly counting down the days until Earl’s Place at Warren College has its very own Just Walk Out function. It would be amazing to just walk out of my apartment and then just walk out of Canyon Vista in less than 5 minutes.

Until then, I guess the overcrowded Sixth Market will have to do.

Ivy Peng is the Editor of The Conch for The Triton.