Aldi branch completely dispenses with cash registers – shopping should be “as easy as possible”.

Created: 07/20/2022, 13:10

By: Kai Hartwig

Going to the checkout is part of everyday life for supermarket customers.

In a Dutch store, Aldi Nord does not have any tills at all – shopping works via an app.

Utrecht/Munich – Anyone who goes to the supermarket or discount store usually completes their purchase at the checkout.

At Aldi, Lidl, Edeka, Rewe or Kaufland, you can often scan and pay for products using the self-service checkout in addition to the usual cash registers including a cash register and cashier.

A Dutch branch of Aldi Nord is now breaking new ground.

Aldi branch in the Netherlands dispenses with cash registers – shopping “completely contactless and automatic”

In a store in Utrecht, Aldi customers will no longer have to go to a checkout at all – because there isn't one there.

The "Aldi Shop & GO" app is designed to help people do their shopping and pay "completely contactless and automatically".

Aldi Nord announced this in a press release.

On Wednesday (July 20) at 8 a.m., the “Aldi Shop & GO” branch opened its doors without a till.

It is not the first store of the discounter that does without checkouts and processes the purchase with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).

Aldi Süd has been testing this process in London since January 18th.

There are no tills at this Aldi Nord branch in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Purchasing runs entirely via an app.

© Screenshot / twitter.com/ALDINord_Presse

Aldi supermarket without cash registers: Sensors and cameras record products, customers pay via app

In the checkout-free branch, sensors on the shelves and cameras on the ceiling of the Aldi store record the products.

If these are moved, they can be assigned to individual customers, Aldi Nord described the processes.

When entering the store, customers must register via QR code generated by the ALDI Shop & Go app.

The purchase can then simply be removed from the shelves and packed into bags or backpacks that you have brought with you.

According to the company, before the start in Utrecht, "the self-learning system was tested intensively by Aldi employees" for months.

The AI ​​used is developing accordingly: "With every purchase, the system learns something new and optimizes the internal processes."

Take a quick look in your fridge: these foods have to go

View photo gallery

also read

Aldi, Lidl and Edeka: groceries that you should never buy when it's hot

Edeka and Netto affected by the hit-and-run campaign: Surprisingly, own-brand water was exchanged

Aldi branch opened without cash registers – Rewe already has a similar store in Cologne

The CEO of ALDI Holding BV in the Netherlands was enthusiastic even before the ultra-modern store in Utrecht opened.

"It fits in with our strategy as a discounter to make shopping as easy as possible for customers," Jan Oostvogels was quoted as saying in the Aldi Nord press release: "After all, our experience shows that our customers appreciate quick and easy processes at the checkout ."

Whether there are also plans by Aldi to try branches without a cash register in Germany remained open for the time being.

The competition in this country is already a step ahead.

In Cologne, there has been a comparable concept in a “Rewe Pick&Go” store since summer 2021.

The Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl and Kaufland, is also testing similar sales channels.

(kh)