New Sainsbury's store opens with no cashiers or tills where supermarket bosses hope queues will be a thing of the past

• Sainsbury's has opened a store with no tills in Holborn Circus, central London
• Sainsbury's first checkout-free store uses Amazon's Just Walk Out technology
• Customers use the SmartShop app to enter and exit the store's automatic gates
• Customers' debit or credit car are charged via the app after they leave the shop 

Sainsbury's has opened its first ever store with no cashiers or tills as supermarket bosses hope queues will become a thing of the past in the new shop.

The store opened in Holborn Circus, central London, on Monday, just yards away from similar checkout-free stores from Amazon and Tesco. 

Customers scan a QR code on the SmartShop app to enter the store, where they can take items off the shelves and stroll out, using the QR code to exit the automatic gates.

Instead of going through a cashier or self-checkout till, cameras recognise which items are taken off the shelves and they are added to a virtual trolley, while payment is taken through SmartShop app just minutes after the customer leaves the store.

Sainsbury's has paired up with Amazon to its Just Walk Out technology in the store, in Amazon's first partnership with a third-party international customer for the technology.

The technology is currently used across eight Amazon Fresh stores in London, as the retail giant continues to expand its bricks and mortar operation. 

The new store will be on the site of Sainsbury's first till-free store, which opened in 2019 but was short lived after complaints from shoppers who found the shopping experience difficult. 

The UK's second largest grocer said it has seen a recent surge in popularity for its SmartShop app, which is available in 1,4000 stores and has seen sales numbers increase by 173 per cent year-on-year.

Clo Moriarty, Sainsbury's retail and digital director, said: 'We are always looking at new ways to make shopping easy and convenient for our customers.

'We are excited about launching 'SmartShop Pick & Go', which offers contactless, checkout-free shopping to our customers, and are looking forward to hearing their feedback.'

Dilip Kumar, Amazon's vice president of physical retail and technology, said: 'We are thrilled to collaborate with Sainsbury's to enable their Holborn Circus checkout-free convenience store powered by our Just Walk Out technology.

'We're excited to bring Just Walk Out technology to our first customer internationally with Sainsbury's.

'With no tills, no checkout lanes, and no self-service scanners, we can't wait to hear how busy Londoners enjoy the experience.'