Panera Is Testing High-Tech Palm Scanners In A Few Stores. Here's Why

In 2020, Amazon reminded everyone that the future is, in fact, now when it introduced its Amazon One technology, which allowed shoppers to pay for purchases with a scan of their palm. If you haven't seen this cutting-edge payment method in stores yet, it's probably because it's only been utilized by a small number of third-party sellers, Amazon retailers such as Amazon Go, and select Whole Foods locations (per Ars Technica). However, Amazon One may be on the fast track to becoming more widely available. According to Restaurant Dive, Panera is testing the palm scanners in two of its St. Louis stores.

But Panera isn't just trying out Amazon One as another method for customers to pay for their meals. As Restaurant Dive reports, guests with access to these locations can connect the scanners to their MyPanera rewards accounts. Rewards members who choose to do so can scan their palms before they start ordering. This will allow Panera's employees to see and inform them of their current rewards and quickly access and order the customer's most frequently purchased meals. 

But, despite how it sounds, Panera didn't implement Amazon One just to benefit its rewards members. According to the brand, adding these palm scanners to its locations has the potential to make ordering at Panera a better process for all of its customers.

Panera senior vice president and chief digital officer George Hanson told Restaurant Dive that the brand's objective for installing the palm scanners is simple. It hopes Amazon One will improve Panera's point of sales. According to Hanson, Panera anticipates the devices will up its locations' "speed of service" and customer experience, which will help with "reducing friction" at the cash register.

As the outlet notes, whether customers are rewards members or not, palm scanners allow customers to order faster because they can pay for their food with a swipe of their hand. And by being able to easily pull up Panera rewards members' accounts, associates will also be able move the line along more rapidly. As Hanson noted, employees can provide better and faster customer service because they won't be busy "inputting phone numbers or card details."

If the test run proves successful, Panera reports it will start placing Amazon One in up to 20 St. Louis and Seattle locations. From there, the company would then install the palm readers in the majority of its U.S. stores. If this were to happen, Panera's implantation of Amazon One would align with Amazon's hopes for the palm readers. According to The Verge, the company aims for its devices to be widely used both to pay for purchases in retail settings and as a way of verifying people's identity in places such as airports and theme parks.