Aldi is opening the very first supermarket without checkouts
Now I have to admit that I hardly ever stand in line at a checkout anymore, but nine times out of ten I head straight for the self-checkout. Well, I’m simply not the most social person in the supermarket, I think. Still, checkouts are just part of the experience. A supermarket without checkouts, without people—it seems very strange to me. And yet, that is exactly what Aldi is going to do.
The supermarket is opening a branch in Utrecht where you cannot pay at a checkout. But it is also slightly different from what we have been used to so far.
Paying with a credit card
At this new Aldi branch, you will not head to the self-checkout to pay for everything, because payment is made via a QR code. That amount is then charged to your credit card. Meanwhile, sensors and no fewer than 475 cameras keep a close eye on everything. Sounds cozy…
Paying with cash, or even with a debit card, is therefore no longer an option. If you want to do your shopping at this store, you first have to download an app where you enter all your details, including your credit card information. The only employees you will see are the shelf stockers.
And what do all those 475 cameras do?
Well, there are not even any self-checkouts in this branch. Whut? So all those cameras track what you buy. When entering and leaving the store, you scan the QR code and the amount is automatically charged to your credit card. All the products are placed on a kind of scale, so it can properly track what is taken from the shelves.
Maybe this supermarket is already living in the year 3000 while I am still in 1950, but this really seems like absolutely nothing to me. Apart from the fact that it seems incredibly susceptible to fraud, and not everyone has a credit card, I find all of this a bit too technological. I completely understood self-checkouts, but this? Why make things so complicated when it can also be much simpler—which is also more pleasant? You probably will not find me in this strange, futuristic supermarket.
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