The trial store, in a secret London location, works by using an Aldi smartphone app to charge you for the goods you have on you when you leave the supermarket – and it could be rolled out more widely
Aldi is trialing a supermarket with no checkouts at all – customers just pick up their shopping and are charged as they walk out.
It works by customers installing an app on their smartphone. They register their phone on the app when they visit the Aldi shop.
After registering, they can shop as usual and then walk out after they are done. They are automatically charged when they leave the shop and receive a receipt by email.
Aldi cannot reveal the location of its trial store, other than that it is in London. The system is currently only available to the employees of the supermarket, and not its customers.
However, the supermarket indicated that the system will eventually be available to the public if it works.
Aldi UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley said: “We are always looking to redefine what it means to be a discount retailer, and the technology involved in this trial will give us a wealth of learnings.
“We are really excited to be testing this concept that will enable customers to pick from our range of quality products, all available at unbeatable prices, then leave the store without having to pay at a till.”
An Aldi statement said the store would still employ the same number of staff as one of its similarly-sized supermarkets.
Aldi isn’t the first retailer to offer ‘no checkout’ payment options.
In March online behemoth Amazon opened its first walk-in store in the UK, selling items such as groceries and technology, without any checkouts.
Jeff Bezos, the multi-billionaire owner of Amazon’s retail empire in the United States, is currently testing its Amazon Go concept on Britain’s high streets.
The first shop was opened in Ealing, West London.
And as with its US stores, there will be no physical checkouts, with all shopping baskets scanned – and customers charged – when they leave the store via the Amazon Go app.
The idea was first introduced in the US in 2018, and it was first reported in 2017 that Amazon was looking at 30 locations in the UK to open bricks-and-mortar shops.
The shops use “Just Walk Out” technology which means customers can avoid queueing.
Shoppers must scan their unique Amazon bar code on their phones to enter the store, allowing sensor technology and cameras to monitor the products they walk out with.
Contactless technology will be used to monitor your virtual cart and detect when products are returned or taken off the shelves. It is similar to self-driving cars.
Earlier this month Aldi confirmed that more than 50 of its SpecialBuy products had been delayed, including a number of homeware products due to go on sale.
The retailer was dealing with an ongoing issue with stock but says arrival dates are “subject to change”.
The discount supermarket claims that around 78 products could be delayed in reaching its stores this month.