Aldi has opened the doors of its first ever checkout-free store in the London borough of Greenwich.
The ‘Aldi Shop&Go’ concept store is now open for public testing after months of being trialled with the grocer’s staff.
The store is located on Greenwich High Street and allows customers to simply put items in a bag and walk out the store without the need to scan an item or visit a till point.
“I cannot wait to show customers our new Aldi Shop&Go store. We have been working towards this day for several months now so it will be great to see how our customers react to the new technology,” The store manager Lewis Esparon said.
“For us, steps like this are always about improving the customer experience and the whole team are looking forward to being on-hand and ready to help to ensure that experience is as smooth as ever.”
In order to use the store, customers must download the Aldi Shop&Go app which will allow them to enter the barriers to start shopping.
Once the customer leaves the store, they will be automatically charged for their shop via their selected payment method and a receipt will be given in-app.
Aldi has tapped retail technology brand AiFi for the technology, which is very similar to Amazon Fresh’s ‘Just Walk Out’ (JWO) tech that has been integral to its grocery rollout in the UK.
AiFi’s technology uses specially positioned cameras to detect what a customer has picked up.
Currently, in Amazon Fresh locations, an employee must stand by the Challenge 25 products and manually check the ages of anyone who is seeking to purchase one, however in the Aldi Shop&Go store, facial age estimation technology provided by tech company Yoti to authorises their purchase.
Those who choose to not use the system will instead be age verified by a store colleague.
Aldi UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley said: “Today is the culmination of months of work, not least from the team here in Greenwich and I’m looking forward to seeing how customers react to our trial.”
“This store utilises the very latest in retail technology offering Aldi’s award-winning products and unbeatable prices to customers in a new and innovative way. The team are really excited about seeing customers come in and experience Aldi Shop&Go.”
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