Sainsbury’s is trialling another big change in its supermarkets — but shoppers ‘don’t want it’

Supermarkets have been making all sorts of changes of late – from new parking rules and restrictions, to limits on how many items you are allowed to scan at self-service checkouts.

And it seems Sainsbury’s is considering introducing a few more big changes in its stores, as it’s trialling a new self-service checkout that would reduce its number of human cashiers.

Sainsbury’s is testing out larger hybrid self-checkouts which feature conveyor belts as well as a bagging area. These are similar to the regular manned tills which you place all your groceries onto, but without cashiers. Shoppers would scan their own items, as usual at self-service.

The bigger tills are intended to allow customers with trolleys to use self-service with ease, and the change comes after the CEO Simon Roberts’ shared plans to make Sainsbury’s stores ‘more efficient’.

These are currently only being trialled in two Sainsbury’s locations, and while the CEO told Grocery Gazette that the new tills were proving ‘popular’, it seems shoppers online aren’t all too happy about the idea of their supermarkets having even more self-service checkouts.

In a post on Facebook, Helen Craster was upset by the idea of missing out on human interactions at the supermarket, saying: ‘Nope we DO NOT WANT THESE IN OUR SHOPS. 

‘I would always go to a till with a person, having a small chat with them and asking how they are doing – everyone has a bad day – can’t do that with a computer.’

And over on X (formerly Twitter) @CumbriaWitch was unhappy about the idea of more self-service tills, posting: ‘Carlisle Sainsbury’s (a huge store) now has only 4 available manned tills. The store was already losing customers as folk were dissatisfied with the changes already made but this will make things worse. Not worth the Nectar points either.’

Scott Dixon also wasn’t a fan of self-service checkouts, writing: ‘I just want more staff on checkouts instead of being forced to use self-service tills that don’t work properly. I never get through one without having to ask a till babysitter to clear errors/input bar codes that won’t scan/authorise alcohol etc. Sainsbury’s is the worst.’

However, not everyone was opposed to the idea. X user @WillmerGA pointed out one upside of rolling out the new tills. They wrote: ‘Have you considered the unfair pressure you’d be putting on the till operators during Christmas time when the self service tills are a powerful tool to tackle that?’

This isn’t the only change the supermarket is trialling. Sainsbury’s is also currently testing out touchscreen devices in supermarkets, that show customers which aisle the product they’re looking for is located on. This would reduce the need for customers to ask staff for help.

These trials are all part of the retailer’s ‘Next Level’ strategy which aims to make the supermarket the UK’s first choice for food shopping.

The Sainsbury’s store in Cobham, Surrey is one of the locations being used as a ‘lab’ for the new strategy, with more than 100 ‘experiments’ being trialled there.

In addition to the hybrid self-service checkouts and touchscreens, the supermarket in Cobham also has also been using smart shelves in the alcohol section in a bid to tackle shoplifting in-store. If someone removes multiple bottles of wine from the shelf at once, an alert is sent out to colleagues. 

Product presentation is also being examined in the Cobham store, to ensure it’s as easy as possible for customers to shop.

For instance, in the fish section and dessert section of the shop, fresh and frozen products are all located in one aisle, instead of being in separate locations. So you’ll find tubs of ice cream located next to cakes, cheesecakes, and profiteroles.

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