Aldi reportedly eyeing cashier-free store

Does Aldi have plans on developing a cashierless store format in Europe or the United States?

A retail tech news publication in the United Kingdom, Charged, published an article saying the German retailer has put out an international call for tech startups that handle computer vision and artificial intelligence work used in cashierless store formats like Amazon Go.

According to the article, the call is asking for companies to work on an English-language website, and for companies to have experience in computer vision technology, like in-store cameras that perform automatic recognition of products being picked up off a shelf, or with automatic recognition via shopping carts (Amazon Smart Cart) and smartphones.

The article also points out that Aldi in the U.K. could be looking at developing a new e-commerce arm to enhance that business.

Store Brands reached out to an Aldi representative who said Aldi does not have any information or comments to share on the topic at this time.