Aldi opens checkout-free store in Utrecht

Retail chain Aldi will open a branch in Utrecht this week without cash registers. The company uses cameras and sensors to see what customers are buying. They settle the amount due with an app and a credit card.

The branch will open in Utrecht this week. Aldi names the store Shop & Go. The store has no cash registers. Customers also don’t have to scan their groceries themselves in the way that is offered in some supermarkets. The store has “intelligent cameras in the ceiling and sensors on the shelves.” Customers can grab products from the shelves and put them directly into their bags. Out a faq also shows that the walking route that customers take during their visit in the store is followed. “The system links the images of items that are taken from the shelves with the movements of the customer in the store and composes the shopping cart based on that,” the chain writes.

Customers must create an account in the Aldi app before visiting. A credit card must be linked in the app from which the money is debited. Customers who notice that their receipt is incorrect can contact customer service. The app is also used to enter the store.

Aldi says in the privacy policy that it collects anonymized IP addresses and therefore cannot trace individual visitors. The app does use Adobe Analytics, which creates an extensive fingerprint of device data. The information is stored on US servers. Users are also required to provide their email address, phone number and home address when creating their account.

According to Aldi, the Shop & Go store is an experiment. The company wants to test new technologies, but does not write whether they will be implemented in other branches in the future. There are employees present in the store who can fill shelves and speak to customers.