Sainsbury’s launches UK’s first checkout-free store

The UK-based supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s, has launched the UK’s first checkout-free store.

The shop, which is located in London’s Holborn Circus, will enable allow customers to scan and pay for their shopping using an app.

Sainsbury’s will offer SmartShop Scan, Pay & Go technology as part of the trial. Following customer feedback from the venture, the company will develop the app further.

Customers will only be able to shop by using the app and scanning a QR code, CNBC reported. The company has installed a help desk to support customers.

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“This is an experiment rather than a new format for us – it hasn’t been done in the U.K. before and we’re really excited to understand how our customers respond to the app experience,” stated Clodagh Moriarty, Chief Digital Officer at the Sainsbury’s Group.

“We’ll be with our customers and colleagues all the way over the coming months, iterating continuously based on their feedback before we decide if, how and where we make this experience more widely available.”

Sainsbury’s venture follows the likes of Amazon, which launched checkout-free Amazon Go stores in Seattle, Chicago, and San Francisco, in which shoppers pay for products using the Amazon Go app.