Aldi trials checkout-free technology in London store to cut the queues
Supermarket chain Aldi is trialling a checkout-free format in a London store. Photo: Aldi UK
Aldi is famous for its bargains – and perhaps even more so for its fast-paced checkouts.
An Aldi store in London is trialling new technology that will allow its customers to skip the checkout without paying at a till.
All customers will need is their smartphone.
Aldi have confirmed it will work in four easy steps:
- Scan a smartphone app to enter the store.
- Collect groceries.
- Leave the store and wait for the email receipt.
- Customers will be charged automatically using their chosen payment method.
Currently, the app is only being trialled by the store’s employees. However, the supermarket has confirmed it has plans to expand the trial to members of the public.
Aldi appears to be following in the steps of Amazon, which was the first to launch ‘just walk out’ technology in its ‘Amazon Go’ grocery stores in 2018.
Amazon has since rolled out this technology to stores worldwide, including six in London.
The ‘just walk out’ approach may be music to shoppers’ ears keen to skip the checkout.
Some shoppers, although fans of the bargain prices, aren’t such fans of the checkout experience.
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Some Aldi shoppers liken packing their shopping bags to elite sport.
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Another shopper was keen to try the new technology, but was wary that the tech-savvy store may be bustling with curious customers.
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Aldi Australia was contacted for comment on whether there are any similar plans in place for stores down under, but did not respond.
While the smartphone technology is yet to reach Australian shores, Aldi has trialled self-serve checkouts in select stores across New South Wales since June this year.
Self-serve checkouts were first made available in Woolworths in 2008, and in Coles soon after.
Aldi has finally decided to join in on the technology, perfect for shoppers wanting to get the best prices, scan their own items and pack their own shopping bags.
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Aldi began rolling out self-serve checkouts across the UK in June of 2020, and Australians will be crossing their fingers hoping the same will happen here.
It’s a change it appears many Aldi fans around the globe have been demanding for some time now.
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One British customer is still getting used to the self-serve checkouts in the UK, it seems.
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