Amazon is reportedly weighing up several brick-and-mortar retail sites as part of plans for the roll out of checkout-free Amazon Go stores in Europe.

The e-commerce giant is seeking out stores of between 4,000 sq ft and 5,000 sq ft to house its cashierless grocery stores, according to sources close the situation quoted by the Sunday Times.

The stores, which are targeted at selling lunch and snacks to professional workers in urban centres, use tracking technology to record customer orders and mobile apps to charge customers automatically. Cameras and sensors in shelves help the company assess demand for items and shopper behaviour.

Amazon has piloted the Go model in two stores in Seattle, and earlier this month was reported to be planning a roll out of 3,000 more stores by 2021.

The plans are understood to be part of Amazon’s push into physical retail following the acquisition of Whole Foods Market last year, giving it seven stores in the UK.

The Amazon Go model was launched in December 2016 and trademarked in the UK in the same year.

Last month Amazon opened the first of its ‘four star’ retail stores in New York, selling items rated at ‘four stars’ or above on its online marketplace.

Amazon declined to comment.

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