Biedronka has already 15,000 self-checkouts in use. All devices are supplied by NCR Voyix. The discount chain of Portuguese retailer Jerónimo Martins, which operates in Poland, already has the self-checkouts from the US company in 87 per cent of its stores. The SCOs are equipped with AI-based article recognition and loss prevention systems. The self-service terminals are used at locations in large cities such as Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk and Katowice, as well as in medium-sized and smaller towns.
In addition to manned checkouts, NCR Voyix terminals are in use in over 3,000 Biedronka stores. Each location that offers self-checkouts has an average of five terminals. It takes customers around two minutes on average to check out at the self-checkouts, which is shorter than at manned tills. The average receipt at the self-checkout terminals is just over 46 Polish zloty (PLN) – equivalent to around 10.40 euros.
Biedronka does not allow cash payments at the self-checkouts. Accepted means of payment are bank cards, the in Poland widely used payment system Blik, e-codes, the Moja Biedronka card and – with a telephone number – the Biedronka app.
Vision Recognition recognises fresh products
The self-service checkouts use NCR Voyix’s AI-based Vision Recognition solution to identify fresh products such as fruit and vegetables, bread and baked goods. Based on this result, shoppers are suggested a suitable selection of symbols for their fresh products on the display of the self-checkout without having to click through a large product catalogue. This process helps to significantly reduce the time taken to register items at the self-checkout.
“All of Biedronka’s activities are focussed on customer convenience,” explains Anna Nowakowska-Kaźmierczak, Operational Project Manager at Biedronka. “The intensive expansion of self-service checkouts in our shops is a clear response to their need to be able to pay for their favourite products conveniently, efficiently and quickly.”
Weight checks strengthen theft protection
To ensure loss prevention at the self-checkout, cameras integrated in the scanner are used. These help to detect AI-based no-scan events and mismatches when the customer scans the goods. If irregularities occur, both the shopper on the display of the self-checkout and the staff in the store are alerted immediately.
To prevent fraud, SCOs at Biedronka are also equipped with scales. This control element checks whether it detects differences in weight between the scanned product and the item in the storage area on the scales. At the exit of Biedronka stores, however, shoppers can leave the store without exit gates. According to information provided to The Retail Optimiser, the retail company is currently testing various exit control solutions.
NCR remains the market leader in self-checkouts
According to the latest report by British market research company RBR Data Services, a Datos Insights company, NCR remains the market leader in self-checkout systems (as reported by The Retail Optimiser). The US company is extending its market leadership through deployments in its core markets in Europe and the Americas – with its long-term customers including Walmart and some of the UK’s leading retailers.
