Tesco shoppers’ fury as exit barriers require barcode receipt to leave

Shoppers have taken to social media to express their dismay after a Tesco Express store introduced a measure that now requires customers to scan a barcode to leave. Posting on Reddit, one shopper shared a picture of a receipt that had a barcode printed on it. 

Customers are expected to scan the barcode at a turnstile near the exit to be able to leave the store – the only problem being that they’d need to buy something to get the receipt.

The new system was introduced at a Tesco Express store near Old Street in Islington, but shoppers have reported seeing these turnstiles at other Tesco branches across London, as well as some Sainsbury’s stores, MyLondon reports.

Shoppers were none too pleased to learn of the barcode system, with one saying: “This is dystopian, if I’m ever in that Tesco I’m jumping the turnstile on purpose.”

One person asked: “If you lose the ticket then it means you automatically turn into a Tesco worker?” to which someone else replied: “You best pray you don’t lose that ticket.”

Another regular customer at the store, however, said: “The door is less than five feet from the tills, it’s a very small Tesco (only four aisles). If you managed to lose it in that five feet, you don’t deserve to leave.”

Reassuring fellow shoppers was one person who claimed to have been in that situation, and lived to tell the tale. They said: “This exact same thing has happened to me at this exact same Tesco, and I can confirm that a staff member bails you out.”

On that note, one person asked: “Is having a locked door not deprivation of liberty though? Even if a member of staff will open it for you.”

“I just leave the way I came in. Really can’t be f***** with these systems,” said another. A number of people responding to the post pointed out that the new system had been introduced by the store following a spate of thefts, which the supermarket is yet to confirm.

Environmentalists were also upset by the barcode system, with one calling it an ‘unnecessary waste of paper’. Nonetheless, one person has already figured out how to hack the system.

Sharing their insight, they said: “You’re not locked in. It’s a turnstile. On a few occasions the barcode didn’t work for me. After trying to scan it a few times, I pulled the arm of the turnstile back a bit and walked out. Nobody said a word.”

Tesco has been approached for comment.