Tesco announces major checkout change for customers at UK supermarket

Tesco is trialling a major change in an attempt to combat theft in its stores. Scan as you shop, customers can now use push-on scales for trolleys to weigh their items to see if the number of products matches that of items they placed in their cart.

If the figures match up, customers pay the normal price. But, if they don't, a staff member will manually scan items to check that nothing has been stolen.

The new scales can also be used for baskets.

The change is being trialled at the Gateshead Trinity Square Extra store in Gateshead, near Newcastle.

However, some customers are not happy about the change.

One customer said: "Myself and my partner have tried it a couple of times and each time it's never worked so the staff have to rescan every item in our full trolley, so it doesn't end up saving time."

A second customer said online: "Since when has Tesco had a weighbridge? Does your Tesco have a weighbridge???"

A third joked: "Am I at border control or Tesco?"

A Tesco spokesperson said: "We're running a trial in a very small number of stores to help our Scan as You Shop customers make sure they haven't missed any items when scanning.

"This will reduce the number of manual checks by colleagues, reduce queuing times and streamline the checkout experience for customers."