Aldi's New Self-Checkout Store Charges £10 Entry Fee to Deter Theft

Aldi, one of the UK's major supermarkets, has introduced a new checkout-free store where shoppers must pay a £10 deposit before entering. The fee, which may face criticism from some customers, is being tested as part of a pilot scheme.

The charge has been implemented at Aldi's checkout-free 'Shop & Go' store in Greenwich, East London. Customers pay a £10 deposit upon entry, which is then deducted from their final bill. However, those who spend less than £10 or leave without making a purchase may have to wait several days for a refund.

Aldi's New Entry Fee

This 'pre-authorisation' charge applies to everyone at the Shop & Go store, whether they use the app or pay with contactless. Aldi's Shop & Go uses AI cameras to monitor what shoppers take off the shelves and bills them after they leave.

To enter the 'just walk out' store, shoppers must download the Aldi Shop & Go app, register a payment card, or tap their card at the entrance gate. A refund is given if the purchase is under £10, but the refund processing time depends on the shopper's bank or card issuer.

'Depending on your bank, it may take a few days until you see the reservation being cancelled in your bank account,' Aldi warned.

Some shoppers have reported being charged multiple times if they accidentally tap the app button more than once before entering. The only warning about the amount taken is in small print below the button: 'We will authorise a small amount to validate your card.'

Checkout-Free, But Not Cost-Free

'This value is not charged directly but reserved. Once your basket total is known, we will use this amount against your total shop. Depending on the total, we will return the difference to you directly or charge the added amount,' Aldi clarified, per Independent.

Aldi's terms and conditions state that a deposit is required to verify payment cards and facilitate smooth transactions. The Greenwich location is Aldi's sole Shop & Go store. It opened in 2022. The £10 deposit mirrors a similar practice at Market Express in London's Excel Centre, which also charges visitors a pre-authorisation fee.

Although Aldi pioneered the checkout-free model in the UK grocery sector, the concept has yet to become widely popular. Amazon, which operates similar stores, initially planned to open 260 'Just Walk Out' locations in the UK but has since scaled back those plans. Tesco currently runs only four hybrids, checkout-free GetGo stores.

Aldi CEO Giles Hurley previously indicated that the budget retailer's primary focus would be self-checkouts rather than expanding checkout-free stores.

Balancing Innovation And Customer Experience

'This is a concept store that opened in 2022 and is designed so that shoppers don't have to manually pay for items – they can simply place things in the basket and the store's camera technology registers the purchase without them having to go to a till - similar to Amazon's Fresh stores,' a spokesperson for Aldi said.

Facing intense competition from Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and other rivals, Aldi is determined to stay at the forefront of retail innovation. This trial could significantly change the supermarket experience as retailers try to balance innovation and customer satisfaction.

Shoppers are still deciding if the convenience of these technologies outweighs the potential downsides. Whether Aldi's experiment succeeds remains to be seen.