Tesco Tests Its First Cashierless Supermarket in London

(Bloomberg) --

Tesco Plc is following Amazon.com Inc. and opening its first cashierless store, where customers can select their groceries and leave without scanning them or using the checkout.

Britain’s largest supermarket said the new concept, called GetGo, will be tested at a Tesco Express in London’s High Holborn and follows a successful trial at a store in Welwyn Garden City, where Tesco is based.  

GetGo’s launch is the latest attempt by a grocer to experiment with checkout-free stores amid shifts in shopping habits and a labor shortage in Britain. Seattle-based Amazon debuted its first cashierless convenience store outside the U.S. earlier this year in west London. J Sainsbury Plc trialled a till-free store in Holborn, although customers had to scan items as they went around. Aldi, the German discounter, and Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc have also been experimenting in the format in the U.K.

GetGo uses technology that allows customers with the Tesco app to check in to the store, pick up groceries and exit. As the shopper leaves, cameras and weight sensors calculate what they picked up and charges them accordingly through the app. 

For the launch, Tesco is partnering with Trigo Vision Ltd., an Israel-based company that has developed cameras and software allowing retailers to charge people automatically. Trigo is already working with German supermarket giants REWE Group and Aldi Nord, as well as Israel’s largest supermarket chain, Shufersal. 

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With assistance from Bloomberg