The internet giant Amazon has been toying with its own supermarkets for a long time.
This is causing unrest among the top dogs - and a growing willingness to experiment.
London - Aldi * is testing a supermarket without a cash register in London based on the example of Amazon Go *. Customers only need an app to shop, which they scan when they enter. In the store, technology registers who has taken which goods. The price is debited via the app after leaving the shop. "We're always looking to redefine what it means to be a discounter and the technology used in this test will provide us with a wealth of insight," Aldi UK and Ireland boss Giles Hurley told a press release according to Monday.
Aldi did not want to reveal exactly in which branch the tests are running.
First, employees of the German retail giant are supposed to test the technology, and in a further step customers will also be tested.
The British competitor Tesco is already having cashier-free shops tested by employees at its headquarters, relying on Amazon technology.
Aldi: Number 5 in Great Britain
Aldi is the fifth largest supermarket chain in Great Britain with more than 920 stores.
Last year, the discounter offered for the first time to pick up goods purchased online on site (“click and collect”); this is now possible in more than 200 shops across the country.
In March in London, Amazon opened a store without a cash register for the first time in Europe under the name Amazon Fresh. In the US, the online retail giant now has a good two dozen of these stores, which are called Amazon Go there.
(dpa) * Merkur.de is part of IPPEN.MEDIA.
