PADERBORN — Customers at the Edeka store in Unterhaching near Munich, which uses Beetle iScan self-scanning equipment, regard the technology very favorably as indicated by a study commissioned by Visual Merchandising Initiative e. V., which polled 150 customers in April 2006.

Wincor Nixdorf equipped the Edeka Simmel store in Unterhaching, Munich, with the latest checkout technology in November 2005. In this installation, the scanning and payment processes are kept separate, with twelve fixed-location self-scanning units located ahead of six ePOS systems.

The specific results were: 73 percent prefer the self-scanning solution to a traditional checkout. Seventy percent of those asked said handling the self-scanning solution offered an enhanced experience factor, and 64 percent said waiting time had reduced. Half of all customers thought the new technology enhanced customer service, and over 80 percent said scanning their own goods offered more privacy. Especially interesting: older customers have a higher affinity to technology than younger ones, with 82 percent of over-50's preferring the new-style checkout as opposed to 69 percent of the under-50 age group.

"The study shows that the new technologies are accepted by customers within a very short period of time when familiarized them by service personnel," said Joachim Pinhammer, head of marketing at Wincor Nixdorf.

Two different configurations of fixed-location self-scanners from the Beetle/iScan family are being deployed in the Edeka store: four so-called Scan&Bag solutions where goods can be packed directly into bags, and eight Scan&Pass systems where purchases are scanned and then placed onto a conveyor belt with customers then paying at any one of six checkouts. At the self-scanning systems, service personnel are on hand to help customers scan their goods and familiarize them with the new technology. There are plans to introduce self-service for the payment process in future as well, using special payment terminals.

In addition to the self-scanning equipment, the Unterhaching store features other innovative technologies such as self-service weighing scales with optical product recognition, a reverse vending system (for empty bottles and cans) and a so-called "Vensafe" to protect especially theft-prone items. These technologies were also evaluated by customers. Asked to give ratings between 1 (good) and 6 (bad), the statistical mean score by all customers for all the systems mentioned was 1.78.

Wincor Nixdorf's store software TP.net is being used to run the checkout systems and control all the technologies in use at the store. TP.net provides full functionality for controlling different technologies in stores, including the "Revendo 8000" reverse vending solution which has also been integrated into the in-store IT environment.