Sainsbury's makes big change in stores and it means shoppers can swerve checkout queues
One of the UK's biggest supermarkets is shaking up the way customers can pay via SmartShop.
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SmartShop allows customers to scan products as they go through stores via a physical handset or app on their phone.
Users can currently pay for their shop via the app at the end, or at the checkouts if they have a physical handset.
However, Sainsbury's has now launched a trial in two stores in Richmond, London, and Kempston, Bedfordshire, of new handsets that let shoppers pay by tapping their card on the devices.
Once payments have gone through they can print a receipt at a physical bay or ask for them to be emailed.
The devices then have to be returned to SmartShop ports when they leave the store.
Darren Sinclair, director of future stores and customer experience at Sainsbury's, said the trial was launched as its own research found lots of shoppers preferred using a physical handset to save their phone battery.
Mr Sinclair told The Grocer: "I think about this as trying to reduce friction, improve payment and simplify the shopping journey, as well as the future potential space."
He added that more customers using SmartShop benefited Sainsbury's as it allowed the supermarket to track shoppers' habits.
"From a heatmapping perspective we can see how people shop.
"We don't see the physical customer, just see the heat, so we can see which ends are looked at, which screens are looked at and the flow around the store."
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ALL CHANGE AT SAINSBURY'S
The new trial from Sainsbury's comes after The Sun exclusively revealed the supermarket has brought in new till security measures.
Shoppers who fail to scan items at self-checkouts will be prompted by VAR-style replays.
If an item is bagged without being swiped through, a message will now appear saying: "Looks like that last item didn't scan.
"Please check you scanned it correctly before continuing."
The move comes amid a surge in shoplifting incidents, with police logging 516,971 incidents last year - up from 429,873 in 2023.
Sainsbury's is also in the process of major store upheaval, as it shuts down in-store cafes and other counters.
The Sun exclusively revealed last month the 61 cafes' final day of trading was April 11.
Meanwhile, patisserie, hot food and pizza counters at its larger shops will be culled "by early summer", Sainsbury's said in its latest financial results.
The most popular items sold from these counters will be moved to aisles in stores.
The retailer also said, from autumn, new "On the Go" hubs offering hot food will be rolled out across stores.
Sainsbury's is also set to cut 3,000 staff at its head office, with 20% of senior management roles being slashed.
The retailer announced the plans in January, as its chief executive Simon Roberts said it was facing a "challenging cost environment.
His comments came despite strong trading in the 2024/25 financial year.
Retailer underlying profit was up 7.2% to £1.03billion, with strong Sainsbury's sales offsetting lower profits at Argos.
Full list of 61 Sainsbury's cafes that have closed
Fosse Park
Pontypridd
Rustington
Scarborough
Penzance
Denton
Wrexham
Longwater
Ely
Pontllanfraith
Emersons Green
Nantwich
Pinhoe Road
Pepper Hill - Northfleet
Marshall Lake
Rhyl
Lincoln
Bridgemead
Larkfield
Whitchurch Bargates
Sedlescombe Road
Barnstaple
Dewsbury
Kings Lynn Hardwick
Truro
Warren Heath
Godalming
Hereford
Chichester
Bognor Regis
Newport
Talbot Heath
Rugby
Cannock
Leek
Winterstoke Road
Hazel Grove
Morecambe
Darlington
Monks Cross
Marsh Mills
Springfield
Durham
Bamber Bridge
Weedon Road
Hempstead Valley
Hedge End
Bury St Edmunds
Thanet Westwood Cross
Stanway
Castle Point
Isle of Wight
Keighley
Swadlincote
Leicester North
Wakefield Marsh Way
Torquay
Waterlooville
Macclesfield
Harrogate
Cheadle
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