Tesco selects central London for it’s first walk in walk out store
We have had the technology to let customers walk in, grab what they want, pay, and leave without stopping at the checkout for a long time, but it's now rolling out.
Key takeaways
- The first truly cashierless stores first emerged in 2016 and were pioneered by Grabandgo.
- To date Tesco has been trialling items being automatically added to a digital shopping basket as customers pick them up from the shelves at its Welwyn Garden City store at the HQ used by staff.
- The Retail Week report also added that Trigo uses machine vision powered tech, like Grabandgo’s whose technology is embedded into ceilings, facias, and along rails in the stores, that supports checkout free retail experiences.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2021) 'Tesco selects central London for it’s first walk in walk out store', 311 Institute, 12 December. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/tesco-selects-central-london-for-its-first-walk-in-walk-out-store/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
The first truly cashierless stores first emerged in 2016 and were pioneered by Grabandgo. Then Amazon came into the market with Amazon Go and suddenly everyone sat up and took notice and retailers around the world, from nano-retailers like AiFi to big box giants like Walmart, started trialling and deploying the technology. Now, in the UK supermarket giant Tesco has created what is set to be its first public facing store using cashierless technology as grocers compete to offer more convenience shopping to customers.
To date Tesco has been trialling items being automatically added to a digital shopping basket as customers pick them up from the shelves at its Welwyn Garden City store at the HQ used by staff.
Then in June Tesco boss Ken Murphy said the company would extend that trial to another store “in the coming weeks and months” with the result being that the chain has now refurbished its Tesco Express site in High Holborn with new pay gates and a host of cameras installed in the ceiling.
According to Retail Week magazine which reported on the store changes, the technology is not yet operational but “it is destined to be the first public facing Tesco store equipped with its Trigo powered version of Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology”.
The Retail Week report also added that Trigo uses machine vision powered tech, like Grabandgo’s whose technology is embedded into ceilings, facias, and along rails in the stores, that supports checkout free retail experiences.
The grocery sector is continuing to try out ways to offer people more convenience at lower prices and so far this year tech giant Amazon has opened a number of cashierless stores in London and the US where shoppers cans scan a smartphone app to enter, pick up goods, and walk away. Shortly after they get an E-Mail receipt and are be billed from their Amazon account.
What this means for your organisation
Convenience is the battleground.
Grocers are competing to remove queues from quick shopping trips. Cashierless stores suit busy city sites with frequent, small baskets. Retailers should identify which formats gain most from walk-out shopping.
Staff roles change, not vanish.
Without tills, staff time can shift to stocking, service and security. That needs new training and new measures of performance. Plan workforce changes before the technology goes live.
Camera-based retail raises trust questions.
Overhead cameras and machine vision track what shoppers pick up. Customers will want clarity on how data is used. Set and publish clear privacy rules for these stores.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- Which of our stores would benefit most from walk-out shopping?
- How would staff roles change without checkouts?
- How will we explain camera tracking to our customers?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
We have had the technology to let customers walk in, grab what they want, pay, and leave without stopping at the checkout for a long time, but it's now rolling out.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
Read full bio
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 12 December 2021. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2021). Tesco selects central London for it’s first walk in walk out store. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/tesco-selects-central-london-for-its-first-walk-in-walk-out-store/
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