Sainsbury's makes huge checkout change so shoppers can 'skip queues'
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Sainsbury's has made a huge change to allow shoppers to 'skip the queues' at the tills.
The supermarket giant has introduced a checkout-free experience at some stores.
SmartShop allows customers scan as they shop and then bypass the traditional till area by simply tap their payment card on the provided device at the end.
They can then choose whether to print a receipt or having it emailed.
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A recent report by The Grocer revealed the service was being trialled at two Sainsbury's stores - Richmond and Kempton.
Darren Sinclair, Sainsbury's future stores director, told the publication: "It's a bit more ergonomic, I think about this as trying to reduce friction, improve payment and simplify the shopping journey, as well as the future potential space."
Shoppers have had the chance to use the retailer's SmartShop app on their mobile phones since 2022, however the supermarket's research found people preferred using a physical scanner to conserve their phone's battery life.
The current trial run by Sainsbury's is aimed at refining the concept to make it is as "user-friendly" as possible.
However, the newly-introduced self-pay scanners were not yet able to process staff discounts or recognise physical Nectar cards, the Mirror reports.
To minimise thefts, Sainsbury's said store staff would also occasionally carry out inspections to see what customers had in their baskets.
It has also started implementing AI-powered video scanning systems in a few stores, with the anti-theft cameras focused on the checkout and packing areas.
If an item was placed in a bag without being scanned, the video capturing this would then be played on the screen to the customer with a message stating: "Looks like that last item didn't scan. Please check you scanned it correctly before continuing."
Sainsbury's has confirmed the use of these cameras in a small number of locations, however it has kept the specific stores under wraps.
A supermarket spokeswoman told The Grocer: "We regularly review the security measures in our stores and our decisions to implement them are based on a range of factors, including offering our customers a smooth checkout experience."
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