To be worried about this trend? - Tesco check-out free store.

[mustlovegin]

It was first started by Amazon Fresh I believe.

Now Tesco are trying to do the same with their first check-out free store.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58951984

Basically you cannot physically get into the store unless you have the Tesco App. You also cannot pay by means of cash or a credit/debit card - you are made to pay for your purchases through the App.

Isn't this potentially discriminatory plus it forces customers to fit into their ecosystem and comply with their restrictions?

This particular store is in an area with many council flats nearby. Elderly and disabled people used to shop there and will now need to walk at least 15 minutes to do their shopping.

Where are we heading with all of this? Shouldn't we have more options and freedom not less?

Sadly some shoppers will love it, just like scan & shop & the self serve checkouts, leading to more staff out of a job or not being replaced when they leave.

I worked for them for far too long and still have friends working there.

Times move on I suppose. Some (many?) people probably didn’t like self service shops/supermarkets when they first came in as opposed to standing at the counter telling the shopkeeper everything you wanted and him/her fetching it all for you from behind the counter.

This worries me as my 83 year old mum just won't be able to cope with this.

She's quite frail , English is her second language and is unable to use the Doro phone that I bought for her.

The vulnerable folk will be forgotten if this tren goes ahead.

My daughter uses the Amazon Fresh one. She’s young (20) lives in central London, studies in the day & works in the evenings. She finds it easy and convenient.

I as a 47 year old with a dinosaur iPhone living in the north west with a very different lifestyle would never dream of using one. But I rarely use Express shops anyway.

I worry about it because apps are so unreliable. People's Google password function saves the wrong password, phones try and connect to nearby Wifi instead of 4G, batteries die.

Hmm they will just have to shop elsewhere, I don’t think 15 mins walk is bad I wish I only had a 15 minute walk to my local shop if I need to do shopping i have to get the bus.

People just need to boycott them. Start using local markets and butchers and pay with cash as much as possible.

Sounds perfect!

Are there really that many council flats in Holborn (which is after all only 5 -10 mins walk from Covent Garden). I know there are a few. But there is also another Tesco Express about 10 mins walk away plus the bigger one in Covent Garden and I’m sure there are various Sainsbury’s Locals too.

Hardly anyone lives near there, properties are extremely expensive in the small residential area. Mostly office workers hence they chose this store

I love these stores. I hate having to interact with people generally though, my idea of heaven is going through the whole of London without having to talk to anyone

They’ll lost custom 🤷🏻‍♀️

What a pain that would be.

It’s just a way to make as much money for Tesco shareholders (fewer staff = less wages to pay) and customers won’t see any discernible reduction in prices.

l don 't know why people never expect businesses to change ?
If they dont change they will get left behind, simple as that.
The supermarkets are still classed as the enemy to some who preferred the old fashioned independant stores, but l work in one and l can see they have no interest in keeping things as they are now, its just a question of time.

Sounds great, I’d love it.
I use scan and shop at my local Sainsbury’s and just put everything in my bag, pay on my phone and off I go.

People always say its self scan that is taking away jobs - it isn't. I work in a supermarket and most of my checkout colleagues now work in our home shopping department. Yes you need less people to work on self scan than checkout but if more people were in shopping instead of ordering on line that is where the resources would be directed.

Are there really that many council flats in Holborn
But there is also another Tesco Express about 10 mins walk away plus the bigger one in Covent Garden and I’m sure there are various Sainsbury’s Locals too

You wouldn't think so, but there are several council flats in the area. Many elderly people with walking sticks and rollators. Sainsbury's is usually more expensive than Tesco.

The problem is that this is presented as a pilot, hence presumably they will want to roll it out to other areas.

BTW, this specific store was already cashless, operating with very few staff members, so I don't think this will help them reduce costs much further. What are they really trying to achieve with this?

I agree Sainsbury’s is usually more expensive, I know as until last Thursday Sainsbury’s was the only supermarket in my town (a north w

I didn't mind when this store switched to cashless but when it moved to get go and I was in a rush to buy stuff for the office it just gave me the rage so I just use the M&S opposite or the Sainsbury's further up.

A north west small town with a significant ex miners/council estate and elderly bungalows.

We have one bus per hour and the next nearest supermarket was well over an hours walk away.

Sainsbury’s is approx 30 mins walk away.

So I hardly think it’s an issue where most customers will be office workers.

It will only work if people download the app, want to use it and visit the shop.

If nobody goes there then it won’t be a sustainable business model.

Just like 3D TV, they started making shows 3D and hardly anyone went for it so it died. Same with any new thing, if it isn’t convenient and what people want then it won’t become a thing.

Relax. Vote with your feet.

They are trying to achieve a totally seamless payments scenario, actually they're trying to integrate payment into an actual situation rather than have it as an experience in and of itself. Much like Uber. It's not for everyone but it is one store and there is appetite.

What are they really trying to achieve with this?

They are trying out something they think people want.

We were in Ealing on Friday and I didn’t use Amazon Fresh like my daughter would have. I used the Sainsbury’s local. Some people will use it, some won’t.

I worry about it because apps are so unreliable. People's Google password function saves the wrong password, phones try and connect to nearby Wifi instead of 4G, batteries die

Exactly. First 'they' take away cash, now they remove the option to use cards and force customers to get into a specific platform. What next?

And presumably it's not only Tesco. Perhaps other retailers may be working on something similar?