A new app created by the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is aiming to integrate the virtual and physical shopping process, allowing you to create shopping lists, be guided to those products in the store and to pay on your smartphone, skipping the checkout queues. It is currently being tested internally, with customer trials to follow early next year, initially in the UK.
Sainsbury’s says that the app is all about saving time.
Overall, the app is proven to cut the time taken to do a shop – reducing checkout time to seconds in testing.
Jon Rudoe, Digital and Technology Director at Sainsbury’s, said “We know that customers’ weekly shop doesn’t start at our front door – they know what they like and they also like that search for a bargain. They still want to come into store – but with limited time, they want to be able to get their shop done quickly. That’s why we’re putting digital firmly at the forefront of our agenda, and putting technology in the hands of our customers.
Personally I’ll stick to online shopping and letting the supermarket deliver the goods to my kitchen, but if you’re one of those people who still like to visit stores personally, this looks like it’ll at least speed up the process.
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its good see that a lot of companies are now creating Apps that allow you to buy things yourself, rather than having to go to a checkout assistant. This app also reminds me of the Apple Store App, created by Apple as you can go into Apple store and pay for things rather than going to an employee.
So far, Sainsbury’s have been lagging their competitors when it comes to self scanning and similar approaches. They have introduced it in a half-hearted manner and it’s not particularly customer friendly.
If they get this right, it will be a big step forward and could make shopping at Sainsbury’s much more appealing. However, based on their track record so far, the ‘if’ at the start of this paragraph is very significant.