Sainsbury’s launches the UK’s 1st grocery store with no tills where customers can scan their items as they shop and pay on an app
- The shop in Holborn Circus, is the first till-free store to trial the tech
- It builds on a trial which started in 2018 and allows people to pay on an app
- Paying with cash is still an option and there will be a helpdesk to assist people
Sainsbury’s has opened the UK’s first store in the UK with no tills.
The shop in Holborn Circus, central London, will see shoppers scanning goods as they go around the shop and paying using an app on their phones.
It has been experimenting with the technology since August and is now rolling it out to the first stores.
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Sainsbury’s has opened the UK’s first and only supermarket with no tills. The shop in Holborn Circus, central London, will see shoppers scanning goods as they go around the shop and paying using an app on their phones
Most transactions at the convenience store are currently cashless, with workers shopping on the move leading the 82 per cent of transactions using digital payments.
Paying with cash is still an option and there will be a helpdesk designed to help anyone struggling with the tech.
It is hoped it will speed up shopping for both the company and the customer and reduce the time spent queuing and in-store.
Plans to roll it out to other areas of the UK are on hold until customer feedback reveals if it was a success.
The app, called SmartShop Scan, Pay & Go, requires people to scan groceries, pay through the app and scan a QR code before leaving.
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.
The app, called SmartShop Scan, Pay & Go, requires people to scan groceries, pay through the app and scan a QR code before leaving. Plans to roll it out to other areas of the UK are on hold until customer feedback reveals if it was a success
Customers can hold their phone up to a Sainsbury’s SmartShop pay point and walk out
‘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.’
The supermarket trialled the technology in 2018 and it is currently active in eight London branches.
Users need to download an app and link it to a Nectar loyalty card. Sainsbury’s has previously denied the scheme had been devised as a means to cut down on staff when it was first unveiled.
‘No one will lose their jobs, absolutely not. The power of this is combining people and technology,’ said Clodagh Moriarty, Sainsbury’s chief digital officer.