Schwarz Group’s Kaufland is introducing self-scanning with customers’ smartphones in its stores in the Czech Republic. The system is only available to members of the customer loyalty programme K-Card. As the Retail Optimiser learned, the Dutch specialists from Re-Vision are software partners of this project.
Since August 2019, Schwarz Group’s full-range discounter has been offering self-scanning under the name K-Scan in four stores using retailer owned self-scanning devices: In the Prague districts of Vypich and Podbaba as well as in the cities of Kladno and Ostrava-Vítkovická. The project with proprietary handheld scanners has by no means been stopped: In September this year, two more stores, in Brno Ponava and Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), will be equipped with them.
In parallel, Kaufland has now decided to introduce self-scanning with its customers’ smartphones: As the Czech magazine Czech Crunch reported first, customers of the two Kaufland shops in the Prague districts of Jarov and Olomouc can now scan their purchases with their own smartphones.
Introduction in other countries is likely
Users of the system must still pay at a checkout — but they can use an express checkout regardless of the size of their shopping basket. The total amount of the shopping is displayed to the users of the app at any time of their shopping trip.
In October, Kaufland plans to roll out K-Scan with smartphones to 28 of its 133 shops in the Czech Republic. It is very likely that Kaufland will also introduce the system in other countries. Globus also offers self-scanning with handheld scanners in the Czech Republic.
