No plans by major Irish supermarkets for full till-free grocery shopping this year       

Aldi and Amazon have opened grocery stores with no tills in Britain

Aldi opened a totally till-free store in London this week.

Major Irish supermarkets Tesco and Aldi said they are not planning to open so-called checkout-free or fully automated stores in Ireland this year, as Aldi and Amazon opened grocery stores with no tills in Britain.

Aldi opened a totally till-free store in London this week to clash with Tesco and Sainsbury's, as well as Amazon Fresh, which have already launched till-free grocery outlets in Britain. 

Aldi Ireland said it will monitor reaction to the London trial before making plans for its Irish stores, but it hailed its new Greenwich outlet as "a world first" for the German firm, as it keeps its Irish plans "under review". 

Lidl declined to comment, while Tesco said it had no plans for such stores in Ireland this year. 

Retail trade union Mandate said it was not aware of plans by supermarkets to trial completely till-free grocery shopping in Ireland.

Its assistant general secretary, Jonathan Hogan, said the union was meanwhile heartened by the plans of Penneys to invest heavily in traditional bricks and mortar stores, after the fashion retailer confirmed plans to expand at Dundrum Town Centre, the largest shopping mall on the island.           

Aldi's checkout-free store in London allows shoppers to pick up products and leave without queuing to pay. 

The new site will also allow customers to buy alcohol, using facial age estimation technology to check whether they appear to be over the age of 25.

A series of hi-tech cameras follow customers as they do their shopping, and then bill them when they leave. 

Aldi had been trialling the store with employees over the past few months before launching the service. 

The aim is to end long queues in stores and could lead to more sites opening.

Customers must register with Aldi’s Shop&Go app, which will allow them to enter the store, pick up their items, and then walk out. 

The technology, provided by Yoti, enables customers to confirm their identity via the app. Anyone who opts out will be age-verified in store.

Store manager Lewis Esparon said: “We have been working towards this day for several months now so it will be great to see how our customers react to the new technology.”