Amazon plans to open a London supermarket without any tills later this year

One of Amazon’s pioneering supermarkets with no tills or checkouts will open in London before the end of the year.

The first of the stores created by the world’s richest man to eliminate all tills, checkouts and queues at supermarkets in the UK is expected to open in London, with at least 10 more on the way and up to 30 planned.

The stores eliminate the process of scanning your items at the end of, or even during a shop. People with an amazon account can scan a unique QR code from their phone to enter the store. After that, Amazon tracks each customer and their purchases.

Every time a shopper picks up an item from the shelf, it gets added to their virtual trolley. If the item is put back, the item gets removed from their trolley as well. Your Amazon account is billed automatically and the receipt will be sent to the Amazon app instantly, meaning shopping only takes as long as picking up whatever items you want to buy. There is no need for cash, cards or even contactless and Apple or Google Pay.

Amazon currently has Go stores in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and its hometown Seattle, where they have been operating since 2018. The company is now eyeing a UK roll-out of as many as 30 stores, mainly focused around transport hubs to target commuters.