As the shopping mall model evolves and online retail grows, Smith shares his predictions for the future of physical stores.
Amazon Opening More Cashierless Stores in Chicago
Amazon Go grocery stores are set to open in Willis Tower and adjacent to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Chicago--Amazon Go, the cashierless grocery store piloted in 2016 in Seattle, is coming to the Midwest and California.
Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reported earlier this month that the online retail giant has signed leases to open Go stores in the city’s tallest building, Willis Tower, and in an office building connected to the Ogilvie Transportation Center.
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed Monday the company is opening Amazon Go in Chicago as well as San Francisco but said it does not comment on rumors or speculation regarding exact location.
When opened, these Go stores will mark the first expansion outside of Seattle for Amazon’s fully self-service, futuristic grocery store.
The online retail giant opened its first Go store, which is located on the campus of its Seattle headquarters, to employees in 2016 but didn’t allow the general public to begin shopping there until this past January.
At the 1,800-square-foot store advertised as having no lines, no check-outs and no registers, shoppers scan the Amazon app as they enter.
When they pick up an item from the store’s shelves, it is automatically added to their virtual carts, while items returned to shelves are removed.
In a video explaining how Go works, Amazon said it combined computer vision, deep learning algorithms and sensor fusion—similar to what is used to program self-driving cars—to develop what it calls its “just-walk-out” technology.
After shoppers leave, the technology adds up what’s in their cart and charges it to their Amazon account.
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