Lidl rolls out Scan & Go in France next

Following launches in the Netherlands and Germany, Lidl is now rolling out the Scan & Go feature in its Lidl Plus app in France. Customers can scan their groceries with their smartphones as they shop and then pay at a dedicated checkout. The service will also be introduced as standard in every new Lidl store.

No separate scanners

Lidl has now activated Scan & Go in forty French stores. France follows Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. In Belgium, the feature launched in August in Melle and Destelbergen. Lidl plans to roll out Scan & Go to about thirty stores with self-checkout lanes this year.

Customers start Scan & Go using a QR code at the entrance and then scan the barcodes of their products themselves. The app tracks the total amount as they shop and also displays promotions. For fruits and vegetables, Lidl uses smart scales in France that automatically recognize products.

Lidl has thus opted directly for self-scanning via smartphone, skipping the use of separate handheld scanners. According to the retailer, this saves on equipment and maintenance costs. “There is no interruption whatsoever in the shopping experience: the customer doesn’t need to download a new app or create a separate account. The transition from scanning products in the store to paying at the checkout happens seamlessly, without any cumbersome or complex steps that disrupt the usual shopping rhythm,” John Paul Scally, former CEO of Lidl France, told Linéaires.