Tesco tests cashierless store

London

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 labour shortage in Britain. Amazon debuted its first cashierless convenience store outside the United States 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 testing the format in the United Kingdom.

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. BLOOMBERG