Tesco joins the checkout-free rush | WARC | The Feed

Tesco joins the checkout-free rush

Tesco is the latest UK supermarket to experiment with a store format that lets consumers shop and pay without scanning goods or using a checkout. 

Shoppers check into the central London GetGo store by scanning a QR code generated by the Tesco.com app on their phone. Their movement in-store is monitored by an artificial intelligence (AI) system that uses cameras and weight sensors in the shelves to track what items are picked up with the final bill being charged to the customer’s Tesco account when they leave.

Why it matters

Such stores are not going to replace the existing array of formats, but UK supermarkets are wary of the threat posed by Amazon which has pioneered the till-free store and now has six in London with at least four more in the pipeline. Supermarkets Morrisons and Aldi are also working on a similar concept. 

Takeaways

• Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s decided two years ago its customers weren’t ready for such a store but it may rethink that as consumer expectations of grocery shopping have changed during the past 18 months.
• More people now shop online and more are making use of instant delivery services (Tesco is expanding Whoosh, its one-hour delivery offer). 
• When marketers talk about a seamless customer experience, the till-free grocery store surely exemplifies that.

Sourced from Guardian, Telegraph [Image: Retail Week]