Sainsbury’s has unveiled its tech roadmap with a series of tech investments it hopes will accelerate its growth.
The supermarket was the first in the UK to offer till-free shopping alongside standard checkouts in August last year.
In the next year, the supermarket plans to roll out a ‘SmartShop’ self-scan to 100 supermarkets.
The new tech, which it is currently experimenting with, will allow shoppers to scan their shopping lists at home and pay via an app to avoid queues.
It will also continue its ‘Pay@Browse’ in 162 Argos stores, which enables customers to pay without queueing.
Finally, the household brand said it will continue trialling digital Nectar cards in Wales, with a bigger roll out later this year.
The company revealed £4.7 billion of its sales now start online.
“I am pleased to report that we have increased profits, reduced net debt and increased the dividend,” said Mike Coupe, Group Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s.
“This is testament to the hard work of colleagues across the business and I would like to thank them for their commitment during this year of change,” he said.
“We completed a major transformation of how we run Sainsbury’s stores and have made significant improvements to store standards in recent months, which remain a focus.
“We will increase and accelerate investment in the core business, investing to improve over 400 supermarkets this year.
“We will also continue to strengthen our balance sheet and are making a new commitment to reduce net debt by at least £600 million over the next three years.”
“I am confident in our strategy and also clear on what we need to do to continue to evolve the business in a highly competitive market where shopping habits continue to change.”
Sainsbury’s had previously said it would make “substantial” investments in technology if its proposed merger with rival Asda is approved, a deal which the competition regulator ultimately blocked.