Aldi trials new 'smart' supermarket where shoppers are charged when they enter the store

People's shopping habits have been changing a lot in recent times, which has also affected establishments such as supermarkets. While it used to be impossible to do the weekly shopping without going to a store, more and more people have started to use home delivery to make their lives a bit easier.

At the same time, retailers are introducing innovations within their business models. One example is German supermarket chain Aldi, which has implemented a new system in recent months: charging customers to enter the shop.

One of the most innovative companies in the food sector is currently testing out this new initiative, which could completely change the way we do our daily shopping. The first step of the Shop&Go system, which requires no employees, was taken at a UK supermarket - in Greenwich, to be specific.

Just to enter this new Aldi store, customers will have to pay 10 pounds, which amounts to around 12 euros . However, the fee will be refundable or deducted from your shopping receipt, depending on what you've bought and how much it has cost.

In reality, it is not a payment per se, but more of a deposit, which aims to prevent thefts. When entering, customers will have to identify themselves with their bank card. When they leave, a recognition technology based on security cameras equipped with artificial intelligence will recognise which products they have taken and will proceed to charge the card directly. There will be cash registers, no people on the tills.

Those who have purchased items for more than 12 euros will only have to pay the corresponding amount once the deposit has been deducted. If the purchase does not reach 12 euros, the shop will make the corresponding refund.

According to the company's website, the intention is not only to test how this new technology works, but to test whether this new smart supermarket, without queues and workers, would provide a better user experience.

For now, Aldi's Shop&Go supermarket store is only a pilot and there is only one such shop in the world - the one in the UK.

At the moment, there is no intention to implement the strategy in any of Aldi's 650 establishments in Spain.