Home Bargains has introduced a new traffic light system across more than 500 of its stores to control the number of customers inside at one time.
It has become the latest retailer to announce the introduced of the queuing system following in the footsteps of Aldi and Tesco, which confirmed a similar system would be rolled out across larger stores soon.
The system has been created by Hitachi Europe and is installed at the entrance and exit of 550 Home Bargains stores. The sensor is equipped with technology that will simultaneously count people entering and exiting.
In real-time, the number of people in-store can then be accurately calculated and communicated to the traffic light signal that determines when new customers can enter safely. When the light signals green, customers will be able to enter the store - when red, customers will have to remain outside until someone leaves.
Joe Morris, TJ Morris director of innovation, said: "Over the past few months, retail environments have changed, and we’ve had to quickly adapt to new ways of operating.
"New, innovative technologies have played a significant part in us still being able to provide a safe and pleasant shopping experience for our customers.
"By collaborating directly with manufactures, like Hitachi, we’re able to actively contribute and share our knowledge to ultimately provide a better, tailored solution for our stores.
"The capabilities and applications of Hitachi’s 3D LiDAR sensor are transformative for the retail industry and we believe it will offer us both great value and future opportunities.”
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The new system has been installed as concern grows over the increasing number of coronavirus cases with the Liverpool City Region currently placed in a local lockdown.
When visiting Home Bargains stores a face covering must be worn unless you're exempt.
