UK retailer Tesco has opened its first checkout-free store in central London, giving customers the opportunity to shop and pay without scanning a product or using a checkout.
The new store trial, GetGo at Tesco Express High Holborn, is said to offer customers the same Tesco products with a seamless shopping experience.
“This is a really exciting moment for Tesco as we launch GetGo with customers,” says Kevin Tindall, Managing Director, Tesco Convenience.
“We are constantly looking for ways to improve the shopping experience and our latest innovation offers a seamless checkout for customers on the go, helping them to save a bit more time. This is currently just a one-store trial but we’re looking forward to seeing how our customers respond”.
How it works
Customers with the Tesco.com app will be able to check-in to the store, pick up the groceries they need and walk straight out again without visiting a checkout.
A combination of cameras and weight-sensors will establish what customers have picked up and charge them for products directly through the app when they leave the store. The cameras do not use facial recognition technology, but instead track body movements.
There will be a section in the store specifically for age-restricted products, with a separate exit where staff will manually check ID verification.
Frictionless technology
Tesco has partnered with Trigo to roll out its frictionless technology.
The rollout of this technology to Tesco Express High Holborn follows a successful trial at Tesco’s staff store in Welwyn Garden City, which has been in place since 2019.
Tesco Express High Holborn has been a cashless store since it first opened in 2018.