Overview
- Netto confirmed a pilot that limits self-checkout to registered customers in selected stores, describing it as an “adjusted use” test reported via Berliner Zeitung.
- Shoppers at the trial sites must have a customer account, such as through a loyalty program, which blocks spontaneous use and leaves some fast lanes idle while staffed lanes fill.
- Customers also report reliability problems at rival chains, with a Lidl user describing repeated lockouts that forced a roughly ten‑minute wait for staff to unlock the terminal.
- An Aldi store posted a sign warning that self-checkout lanes are under video surveillance, which drew online backlash from shoppers who felt placed under general suspicion.
- Self-checkout has spread to thousands of German groceries, EHI says, as local retailers warn of more unscanned items, some chains claim no major theft effect, and experiments or rollbacks in other markets continue.