Jennifer Money
Business Reporter, BBC News
A Reddit user posted a photo of the new scales in the additional Gateshead Trinity Square store
Giant trolley scales are tested in a Tesco store in Gateshead, causing a mixed reaction to buyers.
The carts are weighed before payment to identify all the items that customers who have used scan, as you shop may have missed or scanned twice.
But some buyers do not know if the new technology will take off by comparing it to the safety of the airport. “Am I at border control or in Tesco?” A Reddit user posted, while another joked “no clubcard? Deported!”
Others wondered if the scales aimed to suppress the thieves to display the self-wlaying or reduce cash staff. Tesco refused to comment.
The members of Tesco Clubcard already have the possibility of using Scan when you buy handsets while they fill their carts, then consult and pay at the end.
Now, in the additional Gateshead Trinity Square store, buyers can push their cart on a scale and if the weight corresponds to the items they have scanned, they pay as usual. If there is a divergence, a staff member will perform a manual rescue of the entire cart.
‘Treaty like a thief’
Although some Reddit users who have commented on the photo of the scales are positive with a single saying “they are 10 times more practical and faster”, many were more critical with regard to their introduction.
“Increasingly, the honest buyer is treated like a thief,” said one, while another wrote “the goal of all this is to save on staff”.
The retail sales consultant GED FUTER told the BBC that it was the prevention of losses and endowment costs.
“There is no way to make it faster for the customer. It is supposed to be scanned and goes – it is a scan and a stop while your cart is weighed.”
He said that the Auto-Scan had increased the shoplifting rate, but instead of putting the staff back on the tall, supermarkets were trying to use even more technology to stop flights.
“These are supermarkets that say:” We know there are thefts, so what we are going to do is treat each client in the same way to reduce theft “.
“They forget that confidence is the most important thing for all retailers and it works in both directions. If customers do not feel confident or think they are treated like thieves, they will go elsewhere.”
Getty images
Tesco has already invested massively in the scan while you buy technology
The British Retail Consortium said that the display flight is “out of control” after its annual crime survey revealed that theft incidents of customers reported by retailers in the United Kingdom increased from 3.7 million to 20.4 million, and cost retailers 2 billion pounds.
Distinct figures published by the Office For National Statistics have revealed that the offenses of the display in the police reported by the police in England and the Wales increased by 23% to more than 492,000 in the same period.
It is the highest figure since the start of current recording practices in 2003.
The retail criminologist, Professor Emmeline Taylor, told the BBC that she had seen similar trolley scales used in European supermarkets and that there was “certainly an element to try to control the loss”, but added “, let’s not forget a lot of digitization and loss of Go can be accidental”.
A random audit of 20,000 Balayage and Go baskets revealed that 43% had at least one error, revealed a global study of 2022 on self-dialing.
Professor Taylor said Tesco’s scales were “quite disturbing and recalling security scanners”.
“They don’t want to give the impression that they point their finger on their honest client,” she said.
“They will have to balance the way they react when there is a weight gap because you can lose a customer for life if they feel that they have been wrongly accused of something.”
She said she could see customers frustrating using the scales.
“You have left your handbag in the cart, you need to remove your child from the seat, you could queue behind someone who has been arrested and that you cannot pass, so the trial must focus on minimizing friction points in the customer experience.”
Scales are the latest example of supermarkets that turn to technology to rationalize time and costs. The personal self-flouting ratio continues to be fiercely debated. Some buyers love speed and convenience while others are fed up with hearing “an unexpected article in the sinking zone”.
In August, high-end north of the supermarket chain in England, the stands of the supermarket chain completely got rid of the self-skating, while Asda and Morrisons said they would put more staff on the accustomed funds.
