Just walk out stores: how UK retailers are responding to this hot concept

As Morrisons follows Tesco’s lead and starts to explore just walk out stores, RTIH takes a look at the UK retailers leading the way in this booming space.

Following Tesco’s first ever cashless store, the transition to just walk out models is being led by the big four supermarkets and Amazon.

This is no great surprise, given their ability to make significant technology investments.

The model is thus far being utilised at high street stores, rather than superstores, with Sachin Jangam, Partner for Retail, Infosys Consulting, arguing that the overall economics are still in question, bearing in mind the reduced product range, high rental costs, and significant amounts of cash required.

“Just walk out will likely remain in a trial period for the next few years, before we start to see mass roll-outs. Beyond technology, leaders will be paying close attention to store profitability before putting money behind this innovation,” he comments.

Morrisons

Morrisons is testing out a store with no checkouts or staff, known internally as Project Sarah, at its Bradford head office.

Ah, @Morrisons becomes yet another #UK #grocery #retailer to launch a me-too #checkoutfree #store pilot, like Tesco, in its HQ.

I shan’t be holding my breath for the rollout. #justsaying 🤷🏾‍♀️ https://t.co/8UBQ8Gqj0A
— Miya Knights (@mazzaknights) July 19, 2021

Britain's fourth largest supermarket, which is currently at the centre of a takeover battle, is working with US venture AiFi on the initiative.

Customers (or Morrisons staff members in the case of this trial) download an app on to their smartphone which must be scanned on entry.

Digital cameras then track where people are in the store and record which items they place in their bags.

A source close to Morrisons said the technology was working well, with “a couple more in flight. The tech itself is phenomenal, which uses cameras rather than weights – it has been very smooth”.

This is a compact version of the store and is designed to be 'transportable', which means it could be located in areas not easily accessible for Morrisons stores, such as university campuses or in train stations, as well as on urban high streets.

Later versions may be bigger than the initial test model. The concept could also be developed as a fixed bricks and mortar location.

Tesco

Earlier this month, we reported that Tesco was gearing up to deploy its Trigo powered version of Amazon’s Just Walk Out offering in a second UK location.

Tapping AI and computer vision technology, the Easyout solution enables shoppers to walk into a store, check in via a QR code, select items for purchase and leave without having to bother with pesky checkouts.

Tesco Chief Executive Ken Murphy recently commented: “We have a system installed in our Express store in Welwyn Garden City (at head office), and we’re extending that to another store to check it in a more urban environment.”

He added: “It’s been opened about a year now, and it’s working really well… One of the joys of machine learning is it is continuously improving, so we’re feeling confident that we can put it into another store with a higher traffic.”

According to social media chatter, that store can be found in High Holborn, on the edge of the City of London.

Last year, this became the retailer’s first cashless store in central London.

Tesco declined to comment when contacted by RTIH. It is, however, promising to share more details in the coming weeks.

A couple of weeks ago, we popped along to the High Holborn store and found that it has been refurbished and kitted out with cameras and computer servers. Place your bets on an imminent launch, we would say.

Amazon Fresh

Amazon recently opened an Amazon Fresh location in Camden, London.

It is the fifth such convenience store to feature Just Walk Out tech, which was pioneered at the Amazon Go offering in the States, in the UK.

The other four are in Ealing, Wembley Park, White City and Canary Wharf. Opening hours are from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, seven days a week.

Imagr

Away from the big hitters, Imagr recently opened its first popup store in London, located on Oxford Street.

The New Zealand-based startup fitted out a Sook adaptable retail space into a mini-market for “a fully immersive autonomous supermarket experience”.

It invited prospective customers, tech experts and press into the space for demonstrations of the offering, which includes smart carts and an imaging station.

Imagr says that it has had overwhelming interest from the UK retail market, and therefore made London the first stop for its popup experience.

“We wanted to be the first autonomous retailer to offer a popup store, and we believe we have achieved that,” says William Chomley, Founder and CEO.

“The retail market in the UK and Europe is extensive and has huge potential for automation, especially in the face of Covid-19. With Amazon Go (Amazon Fresh) recently entering the UK and four stores already open, UK grocery retailers need to act fast to keep up with the changing landscape.”

Six of the UK's top supermarket retailers came through the popup. “Our system was well received and we have some strong interest to move forward with a UK retailer in the coming months,” a spokesperson told RTIH.

They added: “It was pretty clear that Amazon Go's growing presence in the UK is putting some pressure on retailers to improve customer experience and automate the checkout.”

“Overhead solutions aren't scalable across all formats of stores, they are hugely expensive to implement and maintain and they cause major issues with privacy.”

“Retailers see smart carts as a way to get all the benefits of automating the checkout with computer vision without putting their customers' privacy at risk.

“With solutions like Amazon Go and Trigo, they have built a supermarket for their tech. With Imagr, we have built the tech that fits into your supermarket,” they concluded.