Sainsbury’s Holborn store becomes check-out free
The Sainsbury’s supermarket chain has opened its first UK till-free grocery store in London’s Holborn.
The store at Holborn Circus has been refurbished to remove the checkout area and tills and customers use the retailer’s SmartShop Scan, Pay & Go technology to pay. Any customer feedback will be used to develop the app further before the retailer decides whether to roll it out to more stores.
The app was first introduced by Sainsbury’s last August and is currently live in eight convenience stores across London.
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.
“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.”
Customers scan their groceries as they travel round the store, pay in the app and scan a QR code before leaving which reassures them that they have paid. Those wishing to pay by cash or card can still do so by visiting the store’s helpdesk. Currently, 82% of transactions in the store are cashless.
The pilot will last for three months.
