Sainsbury’s is testing a new virtual queuing system and accelerating the rollout of checkout-less shopping as it ramps up its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The grocer has launched a pilot of the Ufirst queuing app at five stores to gauge whether it can improve the flow of customers into stores and help staff manage queues.
Sainsbury’s said the app could also help it “respond quickly” if increased shopping restrictions were brought back in during local lockdowns like the one in Leicester at the start of July.
The retailer is trialling the app at its stores in Uxbridge, Pimlico, Newham Royal Wharf, Leicester North and the Dome Roundabout in Watford.
Customers can download the app to their smartphones and join a virtual line without needing to physically queue outside a store. They can monitor their position wherever they are and will receive a notification when they are at the front of the queue.
As part of efforts to help customers “save time and shop speedily and safely” during the pandemic, Sainsbury’s has also rolled out its SmartShop mobile payment technology to more than 100 Sainsbury’s Local stores by the end of this week.
The app is already live in 75 of its convenience stores and 40 more will follow by Sunday.
The expansion of the technology into more stores comes amid an explosion in the number of customers opting to use the checkout-less form of payment. SmartShop now accounts for more than half of sales in some Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
Sainsbury’s ecommerce director Nigel Blunt said: “We’re always on the lookout for how we can make our customers’ lives easier using technology.”
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