QR Code-based app to scan and pay for goods

Sainsbury's supermarket is testing a new app that allows shoppers to use their mobile phone to scan and pay for your goods without having to unload your trolley.

The new Scan 'n' Go app is being tested at stores in Tadley, Hants, Clerkenwell in central London and Bethnal Green, East London.

It allows users to bag their shopping up as they walk around the store and pay for them at a self-checkout counter without having to unload, the Daily Mail reported.

The innovative programme even directs customers around the store according to the items on their shopping list potentially saving even more time.

The customer logs in by scanning a Quick Response (QR) code, when they arrive.

They then scan the QR codes on packaging or on the shelf next to the price information.

Loose items like fruit and vegetables are weighed on scales, and a QR code is printed out which can be scanned by the app.

A learning function monitors spending habits and flashes up special offers depending on the shopper's whereabouts in the store.

Critics suggest the system will enable supermarkets to cut back on staff and effectively spy on their customers by monitoring their spending habits.

But Sainbury's describes the system as a third option and insist they are not planning to phase out manned or self-service tills.