United KingdomRetail and e-commerce2021–2025Sainsbury's
SmartShop Pick & Go at Holborn Circus
Sainsbury's removed Amazon's Just Walk Out technology from its Holborn Circus store
Problem
Sainsbury's wanted busy local workers to buy food and drinks quickly without visiting a checkout. It selected its Holborn Circus convenience store to offer contactless shopping through its existing SmartShop app.
Approach
In November 2021, Sainsbury's introduced Amazon's Just Walk Out technology at the store. Customers scanned an app-generated QR code to enter and leave, while the system registered selected products and charged their linked payment card. In February 2025, The Grocer reported that the technology had been removed and purchases were being handled through a kiosk and self-checkouts. Sainsbury's confirmed the withdrawal and said it continued working with AWS on other projects; the cited report did not give a specific reason for the decision.
Results
No published figures
Takeaway
Integration with Sainsbury's existing app did not lead the retailer to retain checkout-free shopping at this location. The withdrawal applied to that store format while other work with AWS continued.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Retail and e-commerce
- Business function
- Customer serviceProduction and quality
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Computer vision
- Adoption
- Vendor solution
- Evidence
- Press reporting
Sources
Source summaries
Sainsbury's confirmed that SmartShop Pick & Go was no longer available at Holborn Circus. The Grocer described the replacement payment facilities and quoted the retailer's statement that other AWS projects continued.
Sainsbury's described how the app, virtual basket and automatic card payment worked together. It said the location served busy workers buying food and drinks and explained its objective of making their shopping faster.
Full details are in the original sources.