FROM discount stickers to electronic shelf tags and self-scanners, how many of these changes have you spotted in your local supermarket?
Retailers are under pressure to run their businesses more efficiently and are taking advantage of developments in technology.
We round-up all the changes you might have spotted in your local store.
New technology – called electronic shelf labels – is being quietly trailed by supermarkets and it changes the way prices are displayed.
This science allows prices to be automatically updated throughout the day.
You might have already spotted the futuristic pricing system at German discounters such as Aldi and Lidl, with the former using it for nearly three years.
However, British-born grocers are now looking to get a slice of the action.
Asda has now become the latest retailer to introduce the tech to its stores.
The UK’s third-biggest supermarket is training the system at its Express store in Manchester City Centre.
Asda is working with French software company Vusion Group to install 3,000 of the digital screens across the branch.
The trial is set to last 12 weeks and the supermarket said the move will allow staff to spend more time focusing on customers.
Chris Walker, managing director of Asda Express said the move would provide the firm with “valuable learnings” that will “shape future technology rollouts into stores”.
“We look forward to hearing feedback from customers and colleagues on the trial.”
And it’s not just Asda who is ramping up trials of the tech.
The Sun also understands that Sainsbury’s trialled the system in five of its stores across Witney, Rugby, St Clares Kirkcaldy and Shrewsbury earlier this year.
Iceland Foods also told The Sun it has been trialling “digital price tags in a number of stores.”
Electronic pricing labels are not easy to spot and look almost identical to the traditional paper labels which have existed in stores for centuries.
They feature everything a shopper would expect to see on a label such as cost, weight and unit price.
The only difference is that the information is displayed on screens instead of a paper label.
Usually, they are connected to a wireless network that allows for prices to be updated in real-time – instead of it being done manually by a store clerk.
Supermarkets say the technology will help cut down on waste and help with efficiency in stores.
Morrisons disclosed it was using electronic shelf labels in a small number of existing stores and has “launched the system in its new stores this year”.
They join M&S and Tesco who have also been reported to have been quietly introducing the tech across their mammoth portfolio of stores.
In November, shoppers were shocked to uncover that Lidl made a big change to its orange sticker discounts and “reduction hour” in supermarkets.
The bargain grocer offers money off food that’s close to its expiry date, using orange stickers towards the end of the day.
But shoppers noticed that the amount they are getting a discount on has changed.
Up until last month, the discounts were 60% and 30% off depending on how close the items were to expiring.
Now they have been reduced to 50% and 20% respectively.
Its “bakery happy hour” – where a customer could get a 30% off coupon for bakery items after 7pm – has now been cut to 20%.
Lidl previously told The Sun: “We continuously review our offers to ensure we are providing our customers with the best value in the market while reducing food waste and optimising our operations.“
This is not the only change Lidl has made, with the brand also ramping up security measures at its self-checkouts.
In its Shepherd’s Bush store customers must now scan their receipt at a barrier to able to exit the shop.
Morrisons, Primark, Aldi and Sainsbury’s have also introduced the scan-to-exit tech at a number of their stores.
Marks & Spencer has begun rolling out “assisted belted checkouts” to 45 of its Food Halls, with plans to expand the technology to even more locations in the near future.
This new checkout system, designed to accommodate larger trolley shops, includes a conveyor belt and is as spacious as a traditional manned checkout.
The self-checkouts, which are designed to accommodate larger trolley shops, include a conveyor belt and are as spacious as a traditional manned checkout.
M&S’s move follows a successful pilot of the technology in its London Colney store in 2022, and the decision to introduce the innovation at more locations comes after positive feedback from customers
The retailer emphasised that while the new self-checkouts will be available, staffed tills will still be an option for those who prefer to be assisted by a member of staff.
The new “assisted belted checkouts” are now live in a number of M&S Food Halls, including the one in Shoreham, West Sussex, where six of the new tills were recently installed alongside four traditional staffed checkouts.
The changes come as other supermarkets, such as Sainsbury’s, have also started experimenting with similar self-checkout innovations.
Sainsbury’s has been trialling hybrid tills with moving conveyor belts designed to accommodate larger trolley shops.
The move towards cashless shopping accelerated following the Covid-19 pandemic – but it appears to be a trend that has stuck around.
In August Tesco revealed it would be going cashless at cafés in 40 UK sites.
Despite the move, Tesco has said it offers a choice of payment options for customers across its stores.
The supermarket also has 3,400 Tesco Bank cash machines in its stores.
Supermarket giant Asda has 267 cashless petrol stations, where customers must pay at pump by card to fill up.
You can check out the full list of supermarkets that offer cash payments, here.
By Sara Benwell, consumer reporter at The Sun
MOST people think it’s their right to use cash to pay for goods at the shops. But the reality is, that’s not the case.
Even though our pennies and pounds are often referred to as legal tender, it is actually the business owner’s right to decide what payment methods they want to accept.
After an online petition was launched to make it unlawful for shops to refuse cash, the Government confirmed in April that it does not plan to mandate cash acceptance.
Cash transactions remain important to millions, particularly the vulnerable and elderly, but it is the choice of individual businesses.
As we move ever closer to a cashless society, I worry about the elderly and those who are most vulnerable, as many rely on cash for budgeting and it’s easy to overspend when you are using a card.
With so many people still reliant on, or keen to use, notes and loose change, it really does make sense for businesses to continue to accept it.
