Overview
- EHI counts roughly 38,650 self-checkout units this year, up from about 16,000 in 2023 and under 7,300 in 2021, with around one in 18 tills now self-service.
- A YouGov survey for dpa finds nearly two-thirds of Germans use self-checkout (19% always, 43% sometimes), while 24% reject it and 13% would try it.
- Non-users most often want personal contact (54%) or to pay cash (42%); others find it too much work (31%) or worry about mistakes (27%).
- Rollouts continue as Lidl aims to equip every second branch by spring, Obi reports most stores fitted, and some Ikea locations operate without staffed lanes.
- Loss prevention remains disputed, with EHI warning of higher theft and stores using gates, cameras and AI, while Rewe reports no significant effect; more than 3,600 stores offer mobile self-scanning as usability snags still surface in daily use.