Sainsbury’s Concept Store To Experiment With Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’ System
Image ID 227867985 © via Suer27 | Dreamstime.com
Back in September, Amazon announced it would be expanding its ‘Just Walk Out’ technology to two Whole Foods stores by 2022. The locations, one in Washington DC and the other in Sherman Oaks, California, will join the several Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores which already employ the cashier-less payment system.
Now, across the Atlantic, Sainsbury’s is teaming up with the retail giant to trial a concept store in Holborn, Central London. It’s scheduled to open to the public in less than two weeks, with shoppers eager to get their groceries without having to scan an item or stop by a checkout.
The London shop, named the SmartShop Pick & Go, will make use of the same technology seen in six existing Amazon Fresh stores in the UK. As per The Guardian, cameras and weight-sensitive shelves will detect when an item has been removed by a customer, and will automatically add it to the bill when they leave the store.
Shoppers will generate a QR code via Sainbury’s SmartShop app—which is used to scan items at the chain’s other outlets—to enter the store. According to Bloomberg, this is the first instance of Amazon licensing out its technology to a UK retailer, despite having signed deals with several brands in the US, including a WH Smith store set to open at an airport soon.
“We regularly trial new and convenient ways for customers to shop with us and we’re currently testing an upgraded version of SmartShop with colleagues at one of our Holborn stores,” said Sainsbury’s.
Other players in the industry, such as Tesco and Aldi, have also been trialing other versions of ‘Just Walk Out’ stores in London. By leveraging Amazon’s proven technology, will Sainsbury’s come out tops in the race for cashier-less grocery shopping? We’ll have to wait and see.
[via The Guardian, cover image via Suer27 | Dreamstime.com]
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