The goods no longer have to be on the assembly line - Kaufland is testing a new payment system
Created: 04/29/2022, 16:11
By: Jason Blaschke
Shopping could be much easier for Kaufland customers in the future if a whole new payment system was introduced in even more branches.
Neckarsulm – The large supermarkets and discounters in Germany have recently made numerous headlines.
The background to this is massive price increases and delivery bottlenecks triggered by the war in Ukraine.
An example of this is the rare and expensive edible oil, which is currently causing a stir again due to the export ban on palm oil from Indonesia (BW24 reports) and the associated impending supply bottlenecks.
Kaufland customer makes a strange discovery – "what is this recess for"?
Indonesia is by far the world's largest palm oil producer.
In addition, palm oil is processed in many products - for example in sweets, creams or cleaning agents.
Although there are alternative cooking oils that can be used, they are now significantly more expensive due to the strong demand.
A liter of sunflower oil recently cost almost five euros in Kaufland, as photos of angry customers show.
Between all the complaints about the increased prices, there are always new reports on Facebook, Twitter and Co. that users report.
A few weeks ago, a Twitter user wanted to know what the very large recess on the handle of several Kaufland shopping trolleys was for.
When asked by BW24, a spokeswoman for the Neckarsulm supermarket chain said that the gap discovered by the customer was intended for a self-scanner.
"In Germany we are currently in a test phase."
Kaufland tests K-Scan: Customers no longer have to put the goods on the belt
Specifically, it is about a new payment system that should make shopping easier for customers.
"K-Scan" is the name of the project that Kaufland is testing at several German locations - where exactly is not specified.
At the request of
wa.de
, Kaufland said about the new payment system that they would like to provide comprehensive information after the end of the test phase.
K-Scan is an intelligent self-scanning system.
Customers in one of the test stores can grab a scanner and use it to scan the products they are buying in the store.
The advantage is that customers can later pay at a self-service checkout – without having to scan the products again.
The hand scanner transmits the scanned products in the store to the self-service terminal;
the Kaufland customer only has to pay.
company | Kaufland |
head office | Neckarsulm |
founding | 1984, Neckarsulm |
Sales volume | EUR 21 billion (2019) |
number of employees | 139,000 (2021) |
K-Scan already in the test phase: Customers need a Kaufland card or app
The prerequisite for using the scanner station is the Kaufland card, with which interested customers can register.
After registration, either one of the manual scanners can be used or, alternatively, your own smartphone.
If you opt for the smartphone version, you must also have the Kaufland app installed.
According to Kaufland, the new K-Scan system should have many advantages.
“K-Scan” is being tested in a Kaufland branch in Saarbrücken.
The photo shows one of the scanner stations.
© Kaufland
"You no longer have to put the goods on the conveyor belt and can check the total amount during your purchase," explains the Neckarsulm-based company on its website.
The customer saves so much time.
According to reports from
24RHEIN
, it is not yet foreseeable when the expansion of the Kaufland card "K-Scan" will come to even more branches.
However, a spokesman for Kaufland announced that this could be the case in the near future.
Facebook user outraged by the payment system: "This is how jobs are saved"
"We would like to offer K-Scan in other branches and countries in the future," said a spokesman to
24RHEIN
.
But as good as that sounds, some users on Facebook aren't thrilled with the K-Scan.
"This saves jobs," writes a user.
"There will be chaos," says another user, adding: "I prefer to pay for the purchase at the checkout."