Kaufland is getting serious about self-service: the food retailer has announced that it will be equipping all its stores in Germany with self-service checkouts and the K-Scan handheld scanner system. The aim is to make shopping faster, more flexible and more digital – without having to do without traditional checkouts with staff.
8,000 self-service checkouts by the end of the rollout
Kaufland currently has around 2,000 self-service checkouts in use in around 300 stores. The technology is now to be rolled out across all German stores. In 2026 alone, 220 additional stores are planned to be converted – this corresponds to an average of four new locations per week. Once the rollout is complete, more than 8,000 self-service checkouts will be available nationwide, up to twelve per location.
The figures speak for the acceptance of the system: in stores that are already equipped with self-checkouts, an average of around 40 percent of customers use the self-checkout. The new checkout modules use displays in portrait format, which should make it easier to use when paying. Payment can be made by cash, card, app or Kaufland Pay – cash functions are thus deliberately integrated, while many competitors rely on purely cashless systems.
K-Scan: shopping without taking out and putting away
Parallel to the self-service checkouts, K-Scan – the hand scanner system that Kaufland has already been testing in selected stores for several years – is being rolled out across the board. The Kaufland Card XTRA is a prerequisite for use. With this card, customers can either borrow a hand scanner at the store entrance or use their own smartphone.
The process: Items are scanned directly at the shelf and placed in the shopping cart. At the self-service checkout, nothing needs to be put on a conveyor belt – instead, a QR code is scanned and the amount is paid. This completely eliminates the tedious process of taking items out and putting them away, which saves a lot of time, especially for larger purchases.
Interesting fact: nine out of ten K-Scan customers prefer to use the dedicated hand scanner rather than their own smartphone. Kaufland is deliberately taking a two-pronged approach and giving customers the choice – in contrast to its sister company Lidl, which relies exclusively on the Lidl Plus app for its own Scan & Go system.
Traditional checkouts remain in place
Those who prefer to pay at a traditional checkout with staff need not worry: Operated checkouts will remain an integral part of the offering at all locations. Kaufland is thus pursuing a hybrid strategy – automation to increase efficiency without giving up personal customer contact.
This development is in line with a broader trend in the German retail sector. According to a recent survey by the EHI Retail Institute, customers can now check out themselves in over 11,000 stores. Within the last two years, the number of stores with stationary self-checkout systems in Germany has risen by 143 percent.
Heiko Koch, Head of Sales at Kaufland Germany, is quoted in the official press release as saying that self-service checkouts have long since become part of the shopping experience for many customers – they are particularly popular for quick payments for smaller purchases.
Conclusion
Kaufland is focusing on speed and technology when it comes to the shopping experience. With the nationwide rollout of self-service checkouts and K-Scan, shopping is becoming faster for all those who don’t want to wait in long checkout queues. The juxtaposition of digital self-service and traditional checkouts is a smart move: Kaufland is not excluding anyone – neither tech-savvy customers nor those who appreciate human contact when shopping.
