Amazon lines up till-free UK store

WEB titan Amazon is to launch a checkout-free shop in the UK.

It has snapped up a property in London to be its first Amazon Go convenience shop outside the US. Sensors and cameras track customers as they pick up items, allowing them to be automatically charged for their shopping when they walk out.

Ten such shops have been opened in America so far. Amazon declined to comment but Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Bernstein, said the shops could compete with chains such as Pret-A-Manger, Eat and Marks & Spencer.

The stores could also challenge bigger grocery market leaders Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

The firm currently sells food in Britain through its Amazon Fresh, Amazon Pantry and Amazon Prime Now services.

Market researchers Kantar Worldpanel say its UK grocery market share is still less than 1pc.

Elsewhere, the company has ditched plans for a new HQ in New York, after a public outcry over £2.3bn in tax incentives it has been promised.