A Belfast-based cyber security firm is in the final stages of talks with a major retailer to introduce checkout free shopping technology this year.
Angoka is developing a ‘lift-and-go’ format for the unnamed retailer similar to the automated systems already deployed by Amazon and Tesco.
The systems allow customers to take items from shelves and pay automatically as they leave the store, usually with an app.
Angoka said the system it is proposing will be capable of deployment in both supermarkets and remote farm shops.
“What this does is free up time for people working in retail,” said Angoka’s Clem Roberston.
“There will always be a need for people to stock shops and administer a busy retail operation but late at night and in remote areas of the country the need for retail services is more pressing than ever. These systems are in place now to make this happen.”
Checkout-free shopping is expected to be growing trend in 2024, with Sainsbury’s and Aldi running trials in limited locations.
Originally pioneered by Amazon is the US, the online shopping giant now has 20 physical Amazon Fresh stores using the technology in Britain.
Amazon also markets its ‘just walk out’ (JWO) technology to third parties, with Sainsbury’s and WH Smith among the retailers who have signed up for trials.
Tesco has already opened four GetGo stores in England, with plans to expand the network, while Aldi is currently using the technology at just one location.
The biggest challenges for the tech surround issues of GDPR and identification said Angoka’s Clem Robertson.
He described existing cyber security measures as “clunky”, requiring information not compliant with GDPR.
The Belfast-based firm’s solution is to use ‘hack-proof’ sensors, which will isolate information sharing, identifying credit cards and associating them to the right users through methods other than photography.
“We are finalising the application and number of sensors needed to identify the item being bought, the shopper’s credit or debit card and to detect their movement as they go from aisle to aisle,” added Mr Roberston.
In order to prevent actual shoplifting and theft, he said other measures will be in place including doors which won’t open when someone attempts to leave the shop without the matching identifiers stored in the items.
Angoka said the system could benefit the farm community, where automatic vending machines are already being trialled.
