UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is taking its best shot at integrating the physical shopping experience with its customers’ mobile devices with a new app that allows you to create a shopping list, will guide you to the items in the store, and then allow you to pay for your groceries via your smartphone, skipping a visit to the checkout line completely.
It is currently being tested internally, with customer trials to follow early next year, initially in the UK.
Sainsbury’s says that the app is all about saving time.
Sainsbury’s says the app has been proven to cut the time taken to shop for groceries. Testing shows the app reduces checkout time to mere seconds.
Jon Rudoe, Digital and Technology Director at Sainsbury’s, said “We know that customers’ weekly shop doesn’t start at our front door – they know what they like and they also like that search for a bargain. They still want to come into store – but with limited time, they want to be able to get their shop done quickly. That’s why we’re putting digital firmly at the forefront of our agenda, and putting technology in the hands of our customers.”
The app is being tested with Sainsbury’s teams in stores in the next few weeks, and will be first available to Nectar cardholders later next year.
Personally, I can’t wait for apps like Sainsbury’s to come to the states. While I prefer shopping for my groceries in a physical store, finding specific items in the huge-assed stores here in the U.S. is getting tougher than ever. Just the other day, I couldn’t find the Half & Half. Who knew that Kroger’s Marketplace puts the creamer over next to the plumbing supplies?
