Footwear retailer Deichmann is testing mobile checkouts in its stores in Germany. The solution was developed by Gebit, the company’s POS software supplier. The mobile checkout, which can be used to process card payments on the touchscreen without an additional PIN pad, runs on new Zebra handhelds implemented at Deichmann. The solution is to be rolled out in all European Deichmann stores over the next three years.
The company already trialled the mobile checkout last year in Switzerland, where it operates under the name Dosenbach. The mobile POS solution not only enables store employees to assist customers at one location until the payment process is complete, avoiding queues at the stationary checkout, but also offers reliability. This is because the mobile checkout solution also works offline without a permanent connection to the store computer and uses its own provider for payment processing.
“With the mobile checkout, we give our employees the opportunity to be closer to the customer and to accompany them through to a successful completion of the transaction”, Deichmann CIO Severin Canisius told the Retail Optimiser. Initial evaluations have shown a positive influence of the mobile checkout on both the conversion rate in the stores and on customer satisfaction.
In emergencies also via mobile network
It was not just the worldwide IT system failures caused by Outstrike’s problems, which also forced Tegut to temporarily close branches completely in July, that made IT decision-makers in retail aware of the risk of checkout failures.
With Gebit, Deichmann has now created a mobile checkout that also serves operational security. An online connection is required for card payments. In exceptional cases, a SIM card can be used to establish a connection via mobile communications. Deichmann has been working with a solution developed by Gebit at its stationary checkouts since 2017.
Impulse purchases secured
The footwear retailer has had a special roller unit developed for its mobile checkout, on which the deactivator for the article surveillance system and a printer are installed. However, the mobile unit has another important function for Deichmann: it offers space for additional products such as shoe polish and waterproofing spray, which are important for the sales process as a service for customers.
However, customers can only make cashless payments at the mobile checkout. What’s more, the receipt does not have to be printed out. It can be accessed via the customer app or scanned in via a QR code.
Enabler for pop-up stores
Last but not least, the mobile checkout system enables the footwear retailer to quickly offer pop-up stores in a variety of forms – be it at festivals, as trade fair stands or in temporary hotspot properties.
Since Deichmann was already using Apple devices for its branch processes, Gebit initially developed the mobile checkout for iOS. However, the shoe retailer then decided to use Zebra’s Android devices. Gebit then further developed the solution so that it could be used independently of the operating system.
