Supermarket chain Aldi opens first cashier-free store
Facial age-estimation technology is used to scan shoppers buying alcohol.
Aldi's first cashierless supermarket, located in southeast London, opened on Tuesday.
Global supermarket chain Aldi opened its first checkout-free grocery store on Tuesday.
The shop, located in Greenwich, southeast London, uses Aldi's new Shop & Go app to circumvent the need for cashiers and eliminate long lines. Motion-sensor cameras and weight sensors track what's picked up by customers, who are then charged through the app after they leave.
Facial age-estimation technology is used to scan shoppers buying alcohol, New Food magazine reported, though individuals who choose not to use the system can present ID in the store.
The concept store, which opened at 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday, "is the culmination of months of work," Aldi UK and Ireland CEO Giles Hurley said in a statement.
In Great Britain, Tesco and Sainsbury's are among the supermarket brands that have launched cashier-free locations. In the US, Amazon, which already has automated Amazon Go convenience stores and Amazon Fresh supermarkets, is expected to bring its cashierless "Just Walk Out" tech to Whole Foods stores in Washington, DC, and Sherman Oaks, California, some time this year.
The German discount chain has more than 10,000 stores in 20 countries, including over 2,000 locations in the US.