Sainsbury's unveils UK’s first till-free grocery store
Sainsbury’s is tapping its SmartShop technology for the launch of its first ‘no cash, no cards’ mobile self-checkout store.
Its Local Holborn Circus store in London has undergone refurbishment and a three-month trial kicked off this morning, with James Coleman, Software Engineer at Sainsburys SmartShop, announcing on Twitter: ‘Sainsbury's Local Holborn Circus: mobile pay only. No queues. Checkout anywhere. Courtesy of yours truly’.
Last year, we reported that the grocery giant was testing out a scan, pay and go service at its Local store in Clapham North.
Shoppers scan their items on the SmartShop app, then pay for them through Apple Pay and leave without dealing with checkouts. “Technology and changing customer shopping habits have transformed the way people buy their groceries," commented Sainsbury's Group Chief Digital Officer Clodagh Moriarty.
"The latest version of SmartShop, with its new payment feature, will make it super quick for customers to get in and out of the store for those that want to scan, pay and go.”
The retailer said that it was looking to improve the service so it could be rolled out to more locations. Not to be outdone, Tesco launched its own scan and pay trial last year. Staff at its Welwyn Garden City HQ used its Scan Pay Go service in a purpose-built cashless Express store.
