Lidl has made its scan & shop service available to the public for the first time.
The service, called Lidl & Go, means customers can now scan items with a smartphone as they put them in their shopping basket.
Lidl has been running a ‘friends and family’ beta pilot of the service since September last year in four stores: Epsom, Kingston, Airdrie and Llanishen. It has now been made available to the public in the same four stores plus Eastleigh, Glenrothes and Guildford – seven in total, ahead of a staggered wider rollout.
As of today (7 May), shoppers who use one of the stores will see a “Lidl & Go is here” notification and a “start scanning” button when they open the Lidl Plus app.
“This trial is another step forward in our digital evolution, giving shoppers a smarter, faster, and more flexible way to shop,” said Lidl GB chief customer officer Louise Weise.
“As we continue to invest in Lidl Plus, our focus remains on making the shopping experience simple and rewarding.”
Before beginning shopping, users must either scan a QR code at the store entrance or allow the app to access their location. They can then “scan each product with your phone before adding them to your physical basket”, a guide in the app says. When they’ve finished, customers can also pay for their shopping in the app.
However, anyone hoping to avoid queues will be disappointed as they must still scan their phone at a checkout before the payment can be made. Their shopping may also undergo a “quick rescan by a colleague”, the app says.
“To ensure you are charged correctly, a Lidl colleague may rescan some items to help detect any discrepancies. If a discrepancy is found, we may need to rescan your full shop.”
Users can also pay with a card or cash.
Weise said: “Whether a customer chooses a traditional checkout, self-service, or the autonomy of self-scanning, our priority is ensuring they have the flexibility to shop on their own terms.”
Traditional supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose have allowed customers to scan as they shop for a number of users, but Lidl is the first discounter to do so in the UK. It has been exploring scan & shop since 2021, when The Grocer revealed a beta app named Lidl Go was made briefly available on app stores.
The Grocer also revealed in November last year that the discounter was exploring scan & shop handsets, having filed a trademark for Lidl & Go applying to “customer-operated electronic terminals available on-site in retail stores”.
The launch of Lidl & Go to the public is the second big update to the discounter’s loyalty app in less than a week, after it introduced Points rewards on Tuesday. As first reported by The Grocer, for every pound spent users get one point, which they can collect to redeem rewards in the app including discounts on products or money off a whole shop. Points have replaced Coupon Plus rewards, which gave users free items and discounts on reaching monthly spending thresholds.
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