Overview

• Oban resident Alan Macdonald won a public competition fronted by Alan Cumming, drawing about 5,000 WhatsApp entries and more than 20,000 votes.
• He has completed studio sessions near Glasgow to deliver a bright, upbeat Scottish accent for checkout prompts.
• Macdonald, 46, lost his eyesight in 2009, then studied sound engineering at the University of the Highlands and Islands and worked with Oban FM.
• He says the messages will use a friendly, not authoritative tone and he prefers an authentic local voice over a generic AI option.
• Lidl says all Scottish stores will have self-checkouts by November as the rollout continues.