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The shop you can walk out of without paying

Emma Lunn
Written By:
Emma Lunn
Posted:
Updated:
04/03/2021

Amazon has opened its first till-less grocery store outside the US.

Amazon Fresh in Ealing, London uses Just Walk Out technology. Shoppers scan a smartphone app when entering and are automatically billed as they leave.

Their purchases will be tracked using ceiling cameras and shelf weight sensors. However, the futuristic technology does not involve facial recognition.

The technology can also register when someone has put an item back on the shelf.

When they’ve finished shopping, customers can walk out without having to pay at the till. Their on-file credit or debit card will be billed after they leave the shop and a receipt emailed to them.

Amazon Fresh will sell prepared meals, groceries, and Amazon devices. It will also have a counter for collecting and returning online orders.

Other stores which offer till-less shopping, such as M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, require consumers to scan items into a smartphone or other device.

Matt Birch, a former Sainsbury’s executive who now leads Amazon Fresh Stores UK, told PA the company has strived to make grocery shopping “as convenient as possible”.

“The focus was just creating a really easy shopping experience for customers,” he said. “We recognise that UK customers want to shop in a convenient way so we really think they will appreciate being able to walk in and walk out with the shopping they need.”

Similar Amazon Go stores have been open in the US since 2018.


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