After first launching earlier this year, the supermarket has installed additional push-on scales at Scan as you Shop checkouts to “make it easier” for shoppers.
By weighing customers’ trolleys, the technology makes sure they haven’t “missed” any items when shopping and checks the total weight is the same as what has been scanned.
But the on-going trial has sparked a lot of new reaction on social media, as some shoppers in disbelief thought the “dystopian” push-on scales were AI.
It comes as @UKNewestFoods shared a video of the latest Tesco check-out change along with the caption: “Tesco scan and go now has a weigh bridge??????”
Someone replied: “I dont understand it?”
Another wrote: “As if shopping wasn’t already stressful enough as it is lol.”
This person stated: “If I see this in my local tesco this will be the last day I shop there.”
Meanwhile one put: “Honestly I don’t know if this is AI. That’s how dystopian sh*t has gotten.”
However, some argued Tesco should employ more staff to check people’s shopping instead, as this customer explained: “What is going on with Tesco, just take the self scan away & pay staff to check the groceries through, money wasted when the can employ instead.”
Supermarket shopping hacks to slash your food bills
A second agreed: “Supermarkets pay out all this money for stuff like this but wont pay to hire more staff..”
This user also had the same view but revealed they think Tesco’s Scan as you Shop push-on scales now make shopping “feel like an airport security check”, as they commented: “If they don’t trust people to pay for all their shopping they need to put tills and cashiers back instead of making a shopping trip feel like an airport security check.”
One account shared: “Tesco turning into a airport security.”
Another asked: “What in the airport security is this?”
Someone else wrote: “So Tesco became an airport now.”
Tesco’s staff will still be on hand to help customers who are checking out whether that’s using colleague-operated or using Scan as you Shop tills.
A Tesco spokesperson told Newsquest: “We’re running a trial in a very small number of stores to help our Scan as You Shop customers make sure they haven’t missed any items when scanning.
“This will reduce the number of manual checks by colleagues, reduce queuing times and streamline the checkout experience for customers.”
Tesco to axe Evri over-the-counter ParcelShop in 1,200 UK stores by end of November
Recently, Tesco announced it was ending its partnership with Evri this month, after four years.
This will see the closure of over-the-counter ParcelShop services at 1,200 Express stores across the UK.
The supermarket first joined forces with the parcel delivery company back in 2021, which allowed customers to collect and return parcels from many retailers at Tesco Express stores.
Recommended reading:
Tesco has revealed it is currently in the process of “winding down” the service and will display details in individual shops of when it will stop at that location.
However, on November 28, the service will end across all Tesco Express stores.
But there will be a 10 day “buffer period” after this date to give shoppers who have ordered any parcels for collection via Evri’s ParcelShops in a Tesco Express store, enough time to pick up their purchases.
