Co-op initial roll out of Pay In Aisle Technology

With Amazon investing in Amazon Go checkoutless stores and Panasonic testing RFID walk through checkout you might think it takes a global company with massive technology resources to revolutionise in-store payments. That may not be true however as the Co-op, the UK’s sixth largest supermarket with a 6.3% market share, have unveiled Pay In Aisle Technology.

The aim is for customers to check-out their own purchases on their phone, without visiting a till, using their own phone to purchase goods at the Co-op with an easy to use App built with Mastercard’s secure digital payments expertise.

The shop, scan and go initiative is being trialled at the Co-op’s store located at the retailer’s support centre in Manchester, with a wider roll-out beginning as early as this summer which is expected to include a further trial at the Co-op’s store located in the UK HQ of Microsoft, Reading.

The technology sits alongside conventional payment methods in store – such as self-service tills and manned checkouts – in order to enhance consumer choice and service. The innovative move, which harnesses the latest technology, allows customers to scan products on their own device as they walk around the store in a frictionless shopping experience. When they have finished shopping, the amount they owe will then be deducted from their account with a single click.

“It is all about consumer choices and convenience. We listen to our Members and customers and we are investing in our stores, people, prices, products and technology. We recognise there are many communities where customers pop in to their local Co-op and enjoy a friendly chat – it is all part of the service. Whereas for others, perhaps with a train to catch or on a school run, every second can count as consumers seek increased convenience.”
– Matthew Speight, Director of Retail Support at the Co-op

There is little doubt that consumers shopping on the high street or in convenience stores will grow to value faster, easier, simpler ways to checkout and avoid the queues at the till. Currently we’re seeing single retailer solutions such as Amazon Go or Co-op with their solution but as retailers discovered with mobile there are limits on how many different apps a consumer wants on their mobile. Much as the Co-op describe their pay in aisle technology as convenient (and it is) it’s only convenient if you are shopping in a Co-op store. What consumers really want is a single app that will enable them to shop at multiple retailer’s physical stores and no one is yet offering this.