Tesco invests in Israeli till-free tech that lets shoppers skip checkout line

Tesco has been testing Israeli “till-free” technology that lets shoppers pick items from the shelves and be charged without going through a till.

The UK’s biggest supermarket chain announced last week it had invested an undisclosed amount in Tel Aviv startup Trigo.

The startup, founded in 2018 by brothers Daniel and Michael Gabay after serving in the IDF, promises to transform “the retail experience” and deliver “frictionless shopping.”

Using artificial intelligence and a network of cameras, the firm creates a 3D image of the shop-floor and maps the movement of every item as consumers move through the aisles.

Once customers leave the shop, an app on their phone lets them pay for their groceries by charging the card saved on their account.

Dave Lewis, Tesco’s chief executive, said: “We benchmarked the market in this space and they were by far and away the best.”

It is understood Tesco has been testing the technology in the Express store at its offices in Welwyn Garden City and expects to run a trial for which a date has not yet been set.

But the technology will be not rolled out overnight. “What I don’t want you to do is say we’re going to make all shops frictionless tomorrow,” Lewis said.

“That’s not the intention. This is about capability build where we can run stores frictionless with them. But this is a long-term tech capability play.”