The retail company Georg Jos. Kaes is piloting a project in one of its V-Markt stores in Northern Munich to see how redesigning the checkout area can improve customer experience and efficiency at the checkout. From February to April 2026, RNG member Georg Jos. Kaes will be testing various stationary and mobile self-checkout systems at the Munich location with technology partners Wanzl, Deutsche Retail Services (DRS) and Shopreme. For the first time, Wanzl’s intelligent Fastlaner shopping trolley will also be put to the test in live use.
The V-Markt store in Munich’s Euro-Industriepark offers an extensive range of food and non-food products across approximately 17,000 square metres and has an adjoining DIY store. Currently, customers check out at 25 traditional systems equipped with conveyor belts. For the planned pilot operation, customers will be able to choose between all relevant fixed and mobile self-checkout options.
The pilot market shall show under real conditions which form of self-service checkout customers prefer and how theft rates, dwell times and sales distribution may differ. In addition, the influence of retail media on purchasing behaviour will be analysed. “This project is an important milestone for us on the way to the digital checkout area of the future,” says Dominik Endres, Head of IT at Georg Jos. Kaes. It is aimed to implement a stable and frictionless solution in which all systems can be tested in a networked and customer-oriented manner.
Existing software used
The concept was developed jointly by technology providers Wanzl, DRS and Shopreme in close consultation with the retail company. DRS already supplies POS software for the V-Markt stores and their central software platform. The software company also provides the user interface for Wanzl’s Genesis self-checkout terminals. As DRS CEO Uli Schäfer explains, the company did not have to adapt the central systems. DRS/POS reuses the mechanisms of the existing POS software.
Austrian software specialist Shopreme delivers the front end for all mobile devices. In addition to 90 handheld scanners from Zebra, 16 Fastlaners, the newly launched smart shopping trolleys from Wanzl, are also being used for the first time. The manufacturer has developed a platform for these trolleys that integrates the software solutions from Shopreme and DRS.
Market research accompanies the project
Wanzl is also responsible for hardware delivery as well as planning and implementation at the store. In the checkout area, the manufacturer is implementing seven of its Genesis self-checkout terminals and an exit gate equipped with coloured LED lighting. Wanzl’s Smart Exit technology uses sensors and artificial intelligence to monitor the self-checkout area and, once customers have paid at the SCO, it grants them exit at the gate without having to scan their receipt.
Wanzl will also be coordinating market research. The company intends to systematically evaluate experiences and data gained during the pilot project in order to gain sound insights for future steps.
