Sainsbury’s launches UK’s first checkout-free grocery shop where customers pay using mobile app

SAINSBURY’S has launched the first till-free grocery shop where customers have to pay using their smartphones. It’s the first time a major supermarket has launched a checkout-free shop in the UK. Sainsbury’s has been testing till-free payment methods since August. But it hadn’t opened its first fully till-free shop until now, in Holborn Circus, central […]

SAINSBURY’S has launched the first till-free grocery shop where customers have to pay using their smartphones.

It’s the first time a major supermarket has launched a checkout-free shop in the UK.

Sainsbury's

Sainsbury’s has been testing till-free payment methods since August.

But it hadn’t opened its first fully till-free shop until now, in Holborn Circus, central London.

Instead of queuing at the till, shoppers have to scan their groceries as they go around the store.

They then pay using their bank card on the app.

Sainsbury's

Before they leave, they then scan a QR code which will confirm that their payment has gone through.

The shop has been completely refurbished to remove the tills.

Staff members will instead spend more time on the shop floor, which Sainsbury’s says will help keep shelves fully stocked.

It will also contain more “on-the-go” food options for busy commuters, as well as a self-service coffee machine.

There is still a way to pay with cash in the shop, despite the flashy new tech.

There will be a helpdesk to assist anyone having trouble with the app, or who wants to pay with cash.

But Sainsbury’s said 82 per cent of purchases in its Holborn Circus shop were cashless – so it expects the new system to help the majority of its customers.

Sainsbury’s has reassured customers that there are no plans yet to roll out other entirely till-free shops.

But it is looking into ways of bringing the technology to more of its stores.

Sainsbury’s officially launched its SmartShop Scan Pay & Go app last year which customers could use in its Clapham store in south London to skip the queues for the till.

But it’s been trialling the self-scanning technology since 2017.

Sainsbury’s group chief digital officer, Clodagh Moriarty, said: “We know our customers value their time and many want to shop as quickly as possible – technology is key to that.

“This is an experiment rather than a new format for us – it hasn’t been done in the UK before and we’re really excited to understand how our customers respond to the app experience.

“We’ll be with our customers and colleagues all the way over the coming months, iterating continuously based on their feedback before we decide if, how and where we make this experience more widely available.”

If you can’t make it to the Holborn Circus shop, you can try out the Scan, Pay & Go app at eight other Sainsbury’s Local stores.

They are: City Blackfriars, City Mansion House, Paternoster Square, Holborn Circus, Shoreditch Station, Clapham North Station Local, Clapham High Street and Clapham Old Town.

A more basic version of the SmartShop app is currently available across 125 Sainsbury’s stores where customers can use a portable barcode scanner as they move around the store – but they still have to go to a till to pay.

Tesco also introduced the barcode scanners into stores where Clubcard members can scan their shopping and put it straight into their bags. Customers then pay in their designated Scan As You Shop payment area.

Amazon was one of the first retailers to test out this type of checkout-free shopping, with the launch of their Amazon Go store in Seattle.

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