// Sainsbury’s installs new safety screens between checkouts to speed up shopping time
// New screens will keep customers and colleagues safe at the checkout and reduce queues
// Sainsbury’s is first retailer to reopen such a large number of manned checkouts
Sainsbury’s has started to roll out new safety screens between manned checkouts in 150 of its busiest supermarkets to speed up shopping time and reduce queues.
The Big 4 retailer said the new social distancing measure makes it the first retailer to reopen such a large number of manned checkouts in its supermarkets.
The safety screens will be installed between manned checkouts so there this a clear barrier between queues.
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This enables Sainsbury’s to reopen the vast majority of belted checkouts and means customers will be able to pay for their shopping faster while still ensuring social distancing guidelines are met.
Sainsbury’s also expects queues outside stores to be smaller.
The checkout screens complement other initiatives the grocery giant has introduced to keep customers and staff safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.
These include protective perspex screens and card-only payments at all manned checkouts, kiosks and service desks, social distancing floor markings and signage, limiting customers numbers in stores, and additional cleaning.
“Customer and colleague safety is our highest priority and we want to support our customers to pay for their shopping as quickly as possible by reducing queues,” Sainsbury’s commercial operations director Graham Biggart said.
“These protective screens will make it easier to shop in store, so thank you to our colleagues and partners who have worked so hard to get them up and running.”
Sainsbury’s said it trialled the new screens in its Whitechapel store for just over a week and customers responded well.
The retailer said it would focus on installing the screens in its busiest stores and will review whether more stores would benefit from the new divider screens in due course.
Sainsbury’s is also commencing a trial into safety screens at self-service checkouts.
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