Tesco Trials Cashless – Shop And Go
Tesco staff are trialling a completely cashless store at the grocer’s headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, including ‘shop and go’ technology similar to that used in the Amazon Go store in Seattle.
The store is in a Tesco Express convenience store format, and the ‘Scan Pay Go’ technology has been placed on the mobiles of 100 staff who have the capacity to scan barcodes and then pay for their goods in app.
In its first-quarter trading statement earlier this month, Tesco promised further tech and eCommerce innovation, including developments to its mobile app and Tesco.com website, and this represents an immediate follow-up to that statement.
In a presentation on Thursday, Tesco CEO Dave Lewis said: “In our stores in central London, Manchester and Birmingham, lunchtime queues are a problem. Anything we can do to speed that up will be a benefit for customers.”
Tesco convenience transformation director Steve Blair said the cashless trial was in response to changing shopper behaviour, citing statistics from some stores that show more than 80 per cent of customers were paying by card.
We might not see widespread adoption of these systems for a while, but many stores might start offering them sooner or later, especially if big names like Amazon and Tesco lead the way.
Duncan is a technology professional with over 20 years experience of working in various IT roles. He has a interest in cyber security, and has a wide range of other skills in radio, electronics and telecommunications.