Sainsbury’s trials queuing app for local lockdowns
Sainsbury’s has launched a virtual queuing app to prepare for potential local lockdowns, with trials beginning at five UK stores today.
Customers will be able to use the Ufirst app to queue at stores in Pimlico and Uxbridge in London from today.
The supermarket will also test the app at stores in Newham Royal Wharf, Watford and Leicester North in trials until mid-August.
Sainsbury’s said the queuing app will help it respond quickly in the event of a local lockdown or changes to government advice.
It is also designed to help Sainsbury’s staff manage queues and the flow of customers in and out of its supermarkets.
Customers can download the queuing app on their phones and join a virtual queue without having to physically wait in line at the store. They can monitor their position in the queue and be notified when they are at the front.
Sainsbury’s is also rolling out its till-free payment system to more convenience stores, with 40 joining the scheme this week.
The Smartshop technology allows customers to use their phones to scan their shopping and pay for it through the app without using a physical till.
The grocer has already implemented the system at its supermarket stores, with Smartshop accounting for more than half of sales in some locations. More than 1m Sainsbury’s customers use the app each week, it said.
Sainsbury’s director of ecommerce Nigel Blunt said: “We’re always on the lookout for how we can make our customers’ lives easier using technology.
“We’re trialling a virtual queuing system which enables shoppers to hold their place in the queue using their smartphone and we will be listening closely to feedback from our customers and colleagues.
“We’re also rolling out Smartshop Mobile Pay to even more convenience stores, offering customers fast and contactless shopping that will help them get in and out of the store even quicker”.