Amazon “Go” Bad for Job Growth

(Newswire.net — December 6, 2016) Eagan, MN — Amazon “Go” is the company’s latest foray into reducing the minor inconveniences of living and shopping in an industrialized society. When they started, it was just books. Within a few years, they had displaced thousands of book and retail stores nationwide (remember Walden Books?).

Recently, they have gone “old school” and have opened up physical book and local stores to cater to those who have not jumped on the click and shop bandwagon. Now, with Amazon “Go”, a Seattle-based grocery store is using Amazon technology to eliminate cashiers, lines and the process of checkout itself.

According to TechCrunch, the sole retail location is built specifically around meals — sounding more like an early 21st century version of an automat than a full-fledged grocery store, revolving around ready-to-eat meals and snacks prepared on-site along with Amazon Meal Kits.

So, while consumers may save a few minutes during the checkout process, the slippery slope of low-wage jobs continues to permanently erode from our society.

“The power of our mobile phones may permanently obliterate over a million jobs in the next few years,” according to Scott Rilley, CEO of MonkeyDrill, a leader in mobile marketing. “Just as the automobile replaced the horse and carriage, our smart phones will be responsible for killing and creating, jobs. The difference between distinguishing job killers from job growth is being on the right side of the equation.”

Rilley knows what he’s talking about. His firm has provided not only the mobile apps, but the mobile-ready websites for countless insurance companies, auto dealerships and other businesses. “A company who rides the positive side of the mobile age will be in a state of growth, both in revenue and job creation. It is only the companies or people who cling to the status quo who are in peril.”

Lydia R. an entrepreneur from the Midwest, lauded Rilley’s attention to detail and forward thinking solutions. “A Mobile App was just what we needed to keep my customers coming back over and over again; especially when our business was slow.”

However, as businesses embrace mobile technology like this what is the net effect of jobs? For every low-wage job lost, is there an equal number of tech jobs created? More importantly, as entry level jobs permanently evaporate, where do unskilled workers begin their employment journey?

Economists with a static model predict a net drop in jobs. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, see all volatility as opportunity. While entry level jobs are slowly being replaced with technology including apps and robots, an increased demand for developers, engineers and support services are on the rise.

Perhaps the next big opportunity is an educational system specifically designed to transform an unskilled worker onto path of technology support, service and mobile business operations.

No matter what the future holds Rilley, and people like him, are sure to exploit the opportunity for the benefits of their customers.

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