12 step guide on how to SmartShop at Sainsbury’s

Here’s my handy 12 step guide on how to save time with the new SmartShop app at Sainsbury’s

1. Remove your gloves. Don’t put them in your bag which you are about to fill with shopping. Try and put them in your already bulging pockets.

2. Locate bar code of item with one hand, scan with phone using other hand. Then put item in bag which you are holding in your third hand.

3. Realising item hasn’t scanned because there is no internet connection at back of shop, walk to front of shop, remove item from bag using the hand holding your phone, and place item on a shelf with bar code facing you so you can rescan.

4. Now, with 2 of the single item in your app’s basket go to the app’s basket and remove one of the items.

5. Repeat steps 2–4 for any item in the shop which is more than a metre from the front of the shop, for each item you want to buy, ensuring you follow the one way routes around the shop. NB Steps 2–4 become increasingly hard the fuller your bag becomes. Also ensure you need to do no more than a bags worth of shopping unless you have 4 hands.

6. Pay for your items using Apple or Google Pay.

7. Tell the guy on the door, who is giving out SmartShop flyers, what a waste of time that was, given lack of internet connectivity. Watch as he nods in agreement. (He helpfully told me next time I can connect to the shop’s WIFI, which is an o2 hotspot. Of course, they are always easy to jump on…)

8. Leave shop and remove face mask

9. Note that app says your shop is not complete until you have scanned QR code at exit.

10. Replacing your face mask with one hand, queue to re-enter shop and locate QR code, which is hidden by the window behind the baskets.

11. Thank the guy on the door for his help

12. Marvel at how much time you saved.