Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket chain, will let you “just walk out”

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, is implementing “just walk out” tech for the first time in a trial run in its Holborn, London, location.

The trial, dubbed Tesco GetGo, will allow shoppers to buy groceries without scanning items or checking out at a till. The experiment follows a staff-only trial in the grocery store at Tesco HQ.

How it works: To enter the Holborn store, shoppers must download the Tesco mobile app. All items are then tracked and charged to a shopper’s Tesco account, via a QR code scanned by their phone. When they leave the store, receipts are delivered in minutes, the company says.

• Weight sensors and cameras will track shoppers throughout the store, cataloguing every item they choose before checking out.
• Tesco says it isn’t using facial recognition to track shoppers, but instead AI-based “skeleton outlines,” which identify individuals as they shop.

Looking ahead...Tesco GetGo is a first step for the British grocery chain to compete with Amazon Fresh, which also relies on seamless checkout in its stores. Amazon Fresh already has half a dozen stores in London, and 18 locations spread across the US.