Decathlon latest chain to embrace registerless shopping

French sports retailer Decathlon is introducing registerless shopping in its Dutch stores, through a mobile scanning app that allows customers to scan and pay for their items while shopping, eliminating the need for checkout queues.

Payment in the aisle

Decathlon is launching its own Scan & Go system in the outlets in Eindhoven and Rotterdam Alexandrium with the help of a British start-up company. Using their smartphones, customers can scan and pay for products on the spot, so they no longer have to pass by a cash register. Thanks to the integration with existing payment and security systems, the RFID security tags of the purchased items are switched off automatically. 

“Innovation is the core of Decathlon’s force,” says CTO Sybe De Graaf: “We are always looking for new ways to improve our customers’ experiences and to eliminate friction in their in-store journey. The MishiPay mobile self-scan register is quickly implemented and easily scaleable. Our customers will enjoy using it.” If this proves to be correct, the system will be rolled out to all sixteen Decathlon stores in the Netherlands.

Not long ago, Saturn took up the same technology in its flagship store in Hamburg. The self-scan app is intended to bring the online experience to the physical store, since the tech supplier’s research has shown that 72 % of shoppers between 17 and 44 years of age already use their mobile devices to search for items while inside a store. To keep them from purchasing online elsewhere, the self-scan option offers them the opportunity to pay quickly on the spot.