Amazon physical stores with no checkouts get stress-tested by giant Pikachus

Amazon is still optimistic it can roll out its checkout- and queue-free stores at around 2000 sites in the US by the end of 2018.

According to Bloomberg, the online shopping giant has been trying to trick its customer reading software in an attempt to highlight bugs in the system. The shops allow Amazon account holders to enter the stores by scanning their phones, and then uses the same technology present in self-driving cars to register what has been removed from shelves. Amazon Go promises there will never be queues because there are no checkouts in store. Instead, the charge goes directly to your Amazon account.

To really test the system, Amazon has recently been sending employees dressed as Pikachu into its beta store to make purchases. The software, which uses cameras to track movement, still managed to register the sales despite the "customers" being hidden by giant yellow suits.

Details of how the shop actually works have been scant and Amazon has been using broad terms such as "deep learning algorithms" and "sensor fusion" to describe the tech. Amazon hoped to open is first Go store this year, but has delayed the launch because of unforeseen problems with the system. Bloomberg says it is still having problems registering "families with grabby kids" and figuring out who to charge when a couple goes shopping together.

On Friday (19 May), the UK Intellectual Property Office approved Amazon's application to trademark the slogan "No Queue. No Checkout. (No, Seriously.)" A similar application to secure the trademark is also being reviewed by the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

The UK will be the second market to introduce Amazon Go, after the United States. The stores will even be able to sell alcohol, as long as you still bring ID. it was officially unveiled in December 2016.