Lidl trials self-checkout terminals from Swiss hardware specialist 4POS in a store in Lingolsheim, France. Customers of Schwarz Group’s discounter can scan and pay for their purchases themselves at the self-checkouts in the pilot store in Strasbourg region, close to the German border. Half of the six self-service terminals are equipped with cash modules from Glory and offer shoppers the opportunity to pay in cash. Lidl relies on software from GK for the self-checkouts, just as for the attended checkouts. The hardware components for the self-service terminals are sourced from suppliers who are also authorised to equip Lidl France’s manned checkouts.
Unlike Lidl stores in Switzerland and the UK, which use the iScan complete self-checkout solution from Diebold Nixdorf, the discounter in France relies on 4POS. As previously in Germany – The Retail Optimiser reported – the European retail leader recently equipped its French test store with self-checkout terminals from the Swiss hardware specialist. Lidl already operates self-service terminals from the same manufacturer in selected stores in Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovenia.
The hardware components of the self-service terminals in the French test store are almost identical to those of the first self-checkout installations at Lidl in Germany: the receipt printer comes from Epson, the Magellan scanner with integrated Bizerba scales from Datalogic. Unlike the first self-checkouts in Germany, the touchscreen display with integrated computer comes from 4POS and no longer from Diebold Nixdorf. In addition, checkweighers from Israeli retail specialist Shekel are installed next to the scanner at the self-checkouts in Lingolsheim, as in the installations in Germany. Shoppers are supposed to place their recorded goods on these scales.
Self-checkout terminal also accepts cash
By installing self-checkouts in the pilot store, Europe’s largest retailer wants to gain important insights into how shoppers in France accept the offer. At the Lidl store in Lingolsheim, customers can now choose whether they want to pay for their goods traditionally at manned checkouts or prefer to check out at the self-checkout terminals. Three of the six self-checkouts at Lidl in France are equipped with cash modules from Glory and allow customers to pay flexibly, either by bank card or in cash.
