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Aldi has stirred controversy with its £10 pre-payment requirement for customers entering its checkout-free store in Greenwich, east London.
The German supermarket chain mandates shoppers to pay a deposit before entering its Shop & Go outlet, which is later deducted from their final bill.
However, this policy has sparked concerns as customers who spend less than £10 may experience delays of several days before receiving their refund. The pre-authorisation charge applies to all visitors at the store, regardless of whether they use the Aldi Shop & Go app or a contactless payment card.
Launched in 2022, the store employs AI-powered cameras to track purchases, allowing customers to exit without going through a traditional checkout. This system is similar to those used at other checkout-free stores, such as Market Express at London's Excel Centre.
To enter, customers must either download the Aldi Shop & Go app and register a payment method or tap their card at the entry gate.
The £10 deposit is automatically taken before shoppers can enter, serving to verify payment cards and ensure smooth transactions according to Aldi's terms and conditions.
Once inside, the store's AI-powered cameras track items taken from shelves, with the final amount charged to customers' cards after they exit. For those spending less than £10, a refund is automatically processed. However, the timing of these refunds varies depending on the customer's bank or card provider.
Notably, the only indication of the pre-payment charge appears in small print beneath the entry button, stating: "We will authorise a small amount to validate your card."
Some customers have reported being charged multiple times when attempting to enter the store, particularly if they accidentally press the app button more than once.
This £10 deposit requirement follows similar practices in the industry, though the potential for delayed refunds and multiple charges has raised questions about customer convenience.
The introduction of the pre-payment system comes amid broader challenges for checkout-free retail in the UK market. Amazon, which pioneered the technology, has significantly scaled back its original plans to open 260 Just Walk Out shops across Britain.
Tesco has also shown limited expansion in this space, currently operating just four hybrid checkout-free GetGo stores nationwide.
The cautious approach appears to extend to Aldi itself, with CEO Giles Hurley indicating that self-checkouts, rather than checkout-free stores, would be the company's primary focus moving forward.
The Greenwich location's status as Aldi's sole Shop & Go outlet, despite opening in 2022, reflects the wider industry's struggle to gain traction with this retail model.
An Aldi spokesman addressed the system's implementation, stating: "This is a concept store that opened in 2022 and is designed so that shoppers don't have to manually pay for items.
"They can simply place things in the basket and the store's camera technology registers the purchase without them having to go to a till - similar to Amazon's Fresh stores."
Jonathan Neale, the managing director of National Real Estate at Aldi UK, previously emphasised the supermarket's commitment to accessible value shopping across the capital.
"We strongly believe that everyone in Britain should have access to high-quality food at our unbeatable Aldi prices," said Neale.
