Tesco customers' mixed reactions to trolley change trial
Tesco is testing large trolley scales at one of its stores - causing mixed reactions among customers.
The major supermarket is set to trial a system that weighs trolleys before checkout to catch any missed or double-scanned items for those using the Scan as you Shop feature.
However, the decision has sparked controversy among shoppers who have since compared it to airport security.
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Commenting on the system, which is set to be tested at a store in Gateshead, Newcastle, one Reddit user said: 'Am I at border control or Tesco?' while another joked: 'No Clubcard? Deported!'
Others questioned whether the scales were designed to curb shoplifting or reduce the need for checkout staff, the BBC reports.
Scan as you Shop already allows Clubcard members to scan items as they go and pay at the end.
Now, at the Gateshead Trinity Square Extra store, customers roll their trolley onto the scales.
If the weight matches the scanned items, they pay as usual. If not, a staff member carries out a manual rescan.
While some Reddit users praised the system as 'they are 10x more convenient and faster,' many were less enthusiastic. 'More and more the honest shopper is treated like a thief,' one person said, while another added: 'the point of all this is to save on staff.'
Business retail consultant Ged Futter told the BBC this was about loss prevention and staffing costs.
"There is no way this is about making it quicker for the shopper. It's supposed to be scan and go - this is scan and stop while your trolley is weighed."
He said self-scan had increased the rate of shoplifting but instead of putting staff back on tills, supermarkets were trying to use even more technology to stop thefts.
"This is supermarkets saying, 'we know there are thefts so what we are going to do is treat every customer in exactly the same way to reduce theft'.
"They're forgetting that trust is the most important thing for all of the retailers and it works both ways. If customers don't feel trusted or think they're being treated like thieves they will go somewhere else."
The British Retail Consortium recently reported shoplifting incidents in the UK surged by 3.7 million to 20.4 million, costing retailers £2bn.
Separate data from the Office for National Statistics showed police-reported shoplifting in England and Wales rose 23 per cent to over 492,000 cases. That's the highest since records began in 2003.
Prof Taylor said Tesco's scales were "quite foreboding and reminiscent of security scanners".
"They don't want to give the impression that they are pointing the finger at their honest customer," she said.
"They will need to balance how they respond when there is a weight discrepancy because you can lose a customer for life if they feel they've been wrongly accused of something."
She said she could see customers getting frustrated using the scales.
"You've left your handbag in the trolley, you've got to take your child out of the seat, you might be queueing behind someone who has been stopped and you can't get through so the trial needs to focus on minimising friction points in the customer experience."
A spokesman for Tesco said the company is constantly looking for ways to improve customers' shopping experience. It added colleagues will always be on hand to help customers whether they are using a colleague-operated till or using Scan as you Shop.
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