Sainsbury’s has launched a trial allowing shoppers to pay directly on hand-held SmartShop devices, skipping the need to go to the checkout.

The supermarket chain is testing the technology in two stores, in Richmond and Kempton, in a bid to streamline the shopping experience for customers, reported the Grocer.

It is understood that the handsets will allow customers to tap to pay, printing or emailing a receipt before they return the device to its designated bay.

Sainsbury’s says that while app users have been able to pay on their smartphones since 2022, the initiative marks the first time shoppers will be able to complete payment in-store without queuing at a till.

Sainsbury’s future stores director Darren Sinclair says the move is aimed at customers who prefer physical handsets.

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“It’s a bit more ergonomic,” Sinclair said. “I think about this as trying to reduce friction, improve payment and simplify the shopping journey, as well as the future potential space.”

Sinclair added that the initiative also aimed to provide deeper insights into in-store behaviour through heat mapping technology, which tracks movement patterns around the store.

While some functions have yet to be rolled out, including applying colleague discounts or scanning physical Nectar cards, the retailer says its in the early stages of testing and will use this trial to refine the concept.

Last year, the grocery giant launched larger hybrid self-checkouts featuring conveyor belts for customers to place their items on, as a replacement for human cashiers,

Speaking to Grocery Gazette, CEO Simon Roberts spoke about the need to make stores “more efficient”, adding at it had proven “popular” among shoppers so far, but emphasised that “taking out more manned checkouts doesn’t mean we won’t have them, it just means we’ll give you more choice for how you pay”.