Checkout-Free is Checking In

In November Amazon made some major announcements in the British grocery sector with Sainsbury’s becoming the first third-party retailer to integrate Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” tech in a store outside the US. Although WHSmith opened a cashier-less store in NYC’s LaGuardia airport earlier that month using the same technology, it’s their first store in America too. This all comes with Amazon reportedly planning over 200 checkout-free, Amazon Fresh stores in the UK over the next 2 years.

There has been some competition in this area however, Tesco has worked with technology firm Trigo to develop its own version “GetGo” with the first proper store launching last October in Holborn after the company trialled the system in a staff only store at their HQ Welwyn Garden City. Aldi also launched its “Shop & Go” store in Greenwich and Morrisons has been testing something similar in their Bradford HQ under the codename “Project Sarah”.

Each of these brands require their own respective apps for their shops to function, which could ultimately make it more difficult for potential customers to just walk into any small shop and quickly grab something if this tech get rolled out to most of the existing convenience shops operated by the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s.