Tesco has joined Amazon and Aldi in offering checkout-free convenience shopping with the opening of its first GetGo store in London.
The converted Tesco Express on High Holborn – which itself has been pioneering cashless since 2018 – uses ceiling mounted cameras and shelf weight sensors to monitor shoppers who have logged into their Tesco app and entered the store.
Customers tap in on entry, pick what they want and simply leave. They are then charged to their registered card and receive an electronic receipt.
The technology within the 2500-SKU store – with mirrors Amazon’s Just Walk Out offering – is provided by Israeli start-up Trigo, in which Tesco has an equity investment and has been trialling at the retailer’s Welwyn Garden City HQ since 2019.
There will be a section in the store specifically for age-restricted products, with a separate exit where colleagues will manually check ID verification.
As the first public GetGo store launched by Tesco, this new technology will create an even more convenient shopping experience for customers, saving time for those who want to pop in to pick up something for lunch or grab dinner on their way home, believes Kevin Tindall, Managing Director, Tesco Convenience. He says: “This is a really exciting moment for Tesco as we launch GetGo with customers. 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.”
“We’re excited to bring this new technology to customers in London. This new proposition will save customers time, removing any friction from the checkout and offering even more convenience for shoppers,” Guus Dekkers, chief technology officer at Tesco told reporters. “Working in partnership with Trigo, we have combined the range, quality and value of Tesco products with the latest in-store innovation and we can’t wait to see how customers respond.”
The move comes after Aldi became an unexpected front runner in the roll out of checkout-free retail in the UK, announcing its own technology trial at a new London-based concept store.
