Select UK stores trialling self-service app to curb Covid-19 spread

Select UK supermarkets and food stores are trialling an app that allows shoppers to scan their items as they shop and pay in-app, bypassing the need to interact with others or use pay terminals in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Ubamarket says its app, which uses the slogan ‘Scan, Pay, Go!’, “could help stop the spread of Covid-19 in supermarkets by reducing time spent in-store and enabling customers to bypass the checkouts and queues”. It is currently being trialled at select Co-op, Spar, Budgens and Londis stores, according to the company.

The UK is in lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 but supermarkets remain open as essential businesses. Ubamarket is pushing retailers to integrate its app as a safety measure to minimise the use of PIN pads at self-checkout tills.

Alongside replicating the self service model in-store, the app is said to use sat-nav to help customers navigate aisles and can aid shopping according to personal allergy and dietary requirements.

Ubamarket CEO Will Broome said, “Self-checkout tills are one key area where the coronavirus is likely to remain and then be passed on to shoppers, contributing to the wider spread of the virus.

“Retail tech such as Ubamarket will remove the need for long queues and potentially dangerous contact at the tills”.

While it doesn’t have presence yet with any major UK supermarkets, the company told Tech Advisor:

“Ubamarket is currently in use in a number of SPAR stores and is being rolled out across their stores in the UK and Ireland, and is also available in Budgens stores and select Londis stores.

“Ubamarket are soon to launch in select Co-Op stores and are currently in talks with a variety of supermarkets following the Coronavirus outbreak and hygiene concerns.”