Sainsbury’s opens first checkout-free store which uses same technology as Amazon

Sanisbury’s is the latest supermarket to open its first checkout-free store – and it’s powered using Amazon “just walk out” technology.

The new shop format is called SmartShop Pick & Go with the first branch having opened today in Holborn Circus in London. To enter the store, customers must scan a QR code using their SmartShop app which is linked to a credit or debit card.

Then when browsing through the store, the Just Walk Out technology – the same mechanics used in Amazon Fresh stores – tracks shoppers as they remove items from shelves.

It also recognises when a customer puts something back so they’re not accidentally charged.

The shopper is billed for their groceries when they leave the shop, which they do by scanning the QR code to exit through the automatic gates. Store staff will be on hand to assist customers and keep shelves well-stocked.

The new Sainsbury’s SmartShop Pick & Go is located just yards away from Amazon Fresh and Tesco GetGo outlets.

Amazon now has eight Fresh outlets in the UK, with the first having opened in Ealing in March this year, and the last welcoming customers last week in Chancery Lane.

Meanwhile, Tesco opened its first – and so far only – GetGo shop in Holborn last month. Sainsbury’s says demand for contactless ways to shop in stores has increased, especially since the start of the pandemic.

SmartShop, which is where customers use a handset to scan as they shop, is now available in around 1,400 Sainsbury’s stores.

In supermarkets with SmartShop handsets, 30% of sales are now generated through the app, more than twice the level of last year and SmartShop Mobile Pay is available in nearly all convenience stores.

Clo Moriarty, Sainsbury’s retail and digital director, said: “We are always looking at new ways to make shopping easy and convenient for our customers. “We are excited about launching SmartShop Pick & Go which offers contactless, checkout-free shopping to our customers and are looking forward to hearing their feedback.”

Source: Mirror UK