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First look inside checkout-free supermarket ahead of UK opening today

4 March 2021, 07:50 | Updated: 4 March 2021, 08:06

Pictures from the US show what similar supermarkets look like. Picture: Getty/PA

By Polly Foreman

Amazon will reportedly open its first checkout-free supermarket in Ealing, west London, on Thursday 4 March.

The UK's first ever checkout-free supermarket where customers can walk out without directly paying for their shopping will open today, according to reports.

The Mirror states that the Amazon Fresh shop is located in Ealing, London - with a report by website Pocket Lint suggesting that it will be the first of 30 in the UK.

Pictures of similar stores in the US provide a glimpse of how the new shop might look - with shoppers checking in with their phones and not queuing to pay.

Photos of Amazon Go in the US provide a glimpse of how the UK store might look. Picture: PA

In planning permission documents, Amazon applied for trademark applications like: "No Lines, No Checkout. (No, Seriously)".

The shops use a combination of Artificial Intelligence and extensive camera sensors to track what customers have picked up from the shelves.

Shoppers need to sign in at the door, and they can then put items in their bag and leave straight away - as items will be charged to their Amazon-linked card.

While there won't be people working on the checkouts, there will be assistants to help shoppers on the floor.

Shoppers do not have to queue for a checkout in the supermarkets. Picture: PA

The new London store is the first of its kind in the UK, but a similar store opened in the US in 2018.

The first - Amazon Go - opened in Seattle, and the chain now has around 25 stores in the country.

There are a number of similar stores in the US. Picture: PA

The Amazon Go website states: "Our checkout-free shopping experience is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning

"When you arrive, use the app to enter the store, then feel free to put your phone away – you don’t need it to shop.

"Then just browse and shop like you would at any other store. Once you’re done shopping, you’re on your way. No lines, no checkout."

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