Checkers Tests First Cashierless Grocery Store In South Africa

Upmarket South African grocery chain Checkers is testing a store without checkout counters, the first cashierless food store in the country allowing shoppers to walk out without waiting in line to pay.

The new store reflects a strategy by Checkers parent Shoprite Holdings to use technology to provide more convenient retailing and monitor customer behaviour, the company said on Wednesday.

The trial store within company offices in Cape Town has only 40 products such as snacks and sandwiches and will initially only be available to employees. Shoprite is still developing algorithms to recognise products and increase accuracy.

Yet the trial represents a challenge to rival chains as Checkers aims to grab a bigger slice of the high-end food retail market, traditionally dominated by Woolworths Holdings.

In a cashierless store, customers scan a smartphone app to enter, then cameras and sensors track what they remove from the shelves. The retailer then bills the customer using credit or debit cards on file.

ESM