The Aldi supermarket at the intersection of Lange Viestraat and Oudegracht will open on Wednesday. Not just any supermarket, this Aldi is the first completely checkout-free supermarket in the Netherlands. When entering and leaving the store, a QR code has to be scanned and what customers put in their bags is registered by means of cameras and sensors. DUIC already went by to see how that works.
During our visit, many passers-by look curiously through the windows. Jan Oostvogels, CEO of Aldi in the Netherlands, says that the opening of the store is the next phase in developing the system. “Checkoutless shopping has been tested hundreds of times and the teething problems should be gone. Now that customers are coming into the store, that will help improve the system even further.” The system works on the basis of artificial intelligence, Oostvogels continues. “Every customer learns a little more.”
Text continues below the image
According to Oostvogels, the new system is a challenge. “Customers’ privacy is a top priority. Once the customer checks out, nothing of the data is remembered. Privacy really had to be 300 percent arranged before the opening.” Everything in the supermarket works automatically, except for the age check when buying alcohol. Those products are placed in a separate department. Before a customer goes in there, an employee does an age check.
Cashless system
Customers who want to shop at the checkout-free Aldi have to download an app. That app asks for your email address and credit card information and then shows a QR code. You scan it when you enter the store, after which a gate opens. The system gives you a digital number and then tracks the movements you make.
There are a total of 475 cameras in the store, which register which products a customer takes with them. All products are on the shelves on a scale, which also registers what is taken off. That double check should prevent errors.
When leaving the store, customers scan the QR code again in front of a gate. The products you have with you will then be automatically deducted from your credit card. The receipt of your shopping will be sent to you by e-mail.
Text continues below the image
Smaller shop
The fact that you no longer walk past the cash register does not mean that there are no more staff in the store. Shelves are replenished and bread is freshly baked. In terms of surface area, the store is about one third the size of an average Aldi. By displaying products less widely, the range is almost as large. For the time being, there are no non-food products available in the store. You can return your deposit bottles there: the deposit machine is connected to the system.
Text continues below the image
The store opens Wednesday and is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tags: Checkoutfree Aldi center Utrecht opens Wednesday shopping works
