Sainsbury's reinstalls tills in till-free store

Tills have been reinstalled in an experimental till-less shop opened by supermarket Sainsbury's.

It had been totally refurbished to remove the entire checkout area, freeing up shop assistants to help customers on the shop floor.

Customers had to scan their groceries using Sainsbury's Pay & Go app, paying for them as they went around the shop.

But it resulted in long queues at the helpdesk as people attempted to pay for their groceries in the traditional way.

Sainsbury's said it had learned "a huge amount" from the experiment.

Launching the three-month experiment at its Holborn store, group chief digital officer Clodagh Moriarty said executives "were excited to understand how our customers respond to the app experience".

But this week, Sainsbury's said in a blogpost: "It's clear that not all our customers are ready for a totally till-free store."

The option to pay via app is still available at the Holborn shop and eight others across London.