Lidl is adding a scan & go shopping feature to its loyalty app, allowing users to save time at the checkout.
The feature is being added to Lidl Plus in Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, ahead of an anticipated rollout to other European territories.
It is already available to use in selected stores in the Netherlands, according to Lidl’s website in the country, while recent changes in the app’s terms & conditions in Germany and Poland have revealed it is also on the way there.
Shoppers must first ‘check in’ at the relevant store by opening the app’s new scan & go feature. They can then scan products with their phone and pack their bags immediately as they shop. To pay, they must scan the app at a checkout to send their digital shopping basket to the till.
The process is similar to one The Grocer revealed Lidl was exploring in the UK 2021, when it briefly released an ‘early access’ version of a dedicated shop & go app. Called Lidl Go, it appeared briefly on UK app stores before being removed by the discounter following enquiries from The Grocer.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda have offered scan & go shopping for a number of years, while Morrisons launched a six-store trial of the service last month.
Lidl Plus currently rewards UK users with discounts on a personalised selection of products, along with freebies when they reach incremental spending thresholds within a month. New discounts are added every time users shop and scan the app at checkout, and expire if unclaimed after a week.
As revealed by The Grocer at the time, non-personalised discounts on the same products for all users were added in the UK in May. Called Lidl Plus Offers, the feature gives loyalty scheme members exclusive lower prices, which can be signposted in stores, on the shelf edge and in dedicated aisle-end displays.
Read more: Read more: Aldi ramping up rollout of in-store bakeries
Launched in the UK in 2020, Lidl Plus has grown to become Britain’s fourth-favourite retailer loyalty scheme after Tesco’s, Sainsbury’s and Asda’s [NIQ Homescan April 2024]. Along with its in-store bakeries – from which Lidl regularly offers freebies in the app – it is seen as having helped fuel recent sales growth for the discounter.
Its sales were up 8.8% year on year in the 12 weeks to 29 September, according to latest Kantar data, putting its market share at 8.1%, up from 7.6% a year earlier.
Last week, Poundland launched its first loyalty app, called Poundland Perks, across the UK, following trials in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Wight.
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