Sainsbury’s has removed Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’ technology from its checkout-free Holborn Circus store, returning the location to a more traditional checkout setup.
First introduced in November 2021, the ‘SmartShop Pick & Go’ concept allowed customers to enter by scanning a QR code from the supermarket‘s app, pick their items, and leave without having to go through a checkout.
The supermarket has now taken out the technology and introduced a customer kiosk with a till as well as two self-checkouts, alongside the SmartShop mobile pay option.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told GroceryGazette: “SmartShop Pick & Go is no longer available in our Holborn Circus store. We continue to work with AWS across a range of projects and we are looking at how we can use technology to make shopping with us even simpler and more convenient in the future.”
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The decision marks a shift from the technology originally supplied by Amazon, which had powered Sainsbury’s checkout-free experience.
This move follows a similar decision made by Amazon Fresh in April, when the US-based grocery chain replaced its ‘Just Walk Out’ checkout-free tech with “smart trolley technology”.
While Amazon Fresh continues to operate checkout-free stores in the UK, alongside Tesco and Aldi, many of these retailers have shifted to hybrid models.
Tesco introduced hybrid formats in 2022 at its Chiswell Street, Fulham Reach, London, and Aston University Express GetGo stores.
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