Sainsbury’s adding AI to checkouts in till upgrade

Sainsbury’s is to roll out AI capabilities to its self-checkouts as part of a wider technology upgrade aimed at cutting out theft, and improving customer experience at its tills.

Expanding on its existing partnership with checkout manufacturer NCR Voyix, Sainsbury’s will upgrade 22,500 checkouts across its supermarket, c-store and forecourt estate.

It’s the latest change to the supermarket’s checkouts in recent years, under its Food First, and now Next Level, strategies. The programme – dubbed its ‘Future Front-End strategy’ within the business – has seen Sainsbury’s strip out manned checkouts in favour of more self-checkouts in a bid to boost efficiency. 

However, the changes have split opinion among customers, with many complaining it has come at a cost to customer service, by increasing queues and causing frustration when the tech goes wrong.

Counter crime measures, like the addition of barriers that require customers to scan receipts on exit, have also been criticised by some for leading to a slower self-checkout experience.

The upgrade seeks to address both of these concerns, while at the same time aiding Sainsbury’s colleagues on the shop floor.

NCR’s ‘Next Generation Checkout Systems’ have the capability to integrate AI computer recognition into the checkout process.

The function, called Picklist, uses AI to identify specific items quickly, for example that a product is an apple, and potentially what type. It can also help spot when a ‘suspicious’ item has appeared in the checkout shelf.

Store colleagues will be able to approve transactions remotely, via tablets, rather than needing to go to each individual till, for example when a machine queries the weight of certain items.

This would in theory not only reduce shrinkage, but cut down on unnecessary interruptions, improving the process overall.

Sainsbury’s will also receive “real time data” gathered through checkout transactions, which will help improve sales forecasting. AI will also help deliver more personalised promotions to each customer.

“Our commitment to unbeatable quality food and great service, whether in store or online, is strengthened by NCR Voyix technology,” said Clodagh Moriarty, Sainsbury’s chief retail & technology director.

“NCR Voyix has grown alongside Sainsbury’s for two decades, unlocking new capabilities and optimising product management, sales forecasting and store efficiencies. This is driving us to the next level and delivers for customers, colleagues and shareholders,” Moriarty said.

Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts defended the supermarket’s decision to replace the vast majority of its manned tills with self checkouts, in a recent interview with The Grocer. 

“As an industry, we can’t say we can’t become more efficient. In a 3% margin business, with the cost pressures we face, we have to find efficiencies,” he said. 

Sainsbury’s would retain “at least one” manned checkout in all of its stores, he added.