UK’s Tesco Looking to Build Cashierless Stores As Competition With Amazon Heats Up
UK’s Tesco is looking at new technologies as competition with Amazon is heating up in the country.
Tesco is actually working with Israeli startup Trigo Vision to build cashier-less stores that will allow the retailer to eventually eliminate cashiers on its stores in the future. Amazon has obviously invested in cashierless stores with Amazon Go in the United States, testing its own technology. It’s even planning to open its first Amazon Go store in Oxford Circus. The company also partnered with Tesco rival Morissons earlier this year.
And so, Tesco is getting ready for some major competition from Amazon. The new stores will use AI-powered cameras and sensors on shelves that will detect when people pick up products from shelves and pay from their phone as they leave the store, reports The Telegraph. The experience will likely work similar to Amazon Go, and Tesco apparently demoed the technology at a Tesco Express store earlier this month.
It’s not clear exactly how mature this new technology is yet, but Tesco will likely continue to push forward with the cashierless system as Amazon has no signs of slowing down. The cashierless stores would not only introduce convenience but could also help Tesco cut down on profit margins by — you guessed it — laying off its cashiers.