OVERVIEW
Waitrose has constantly remained at the forefront of innovation when it comes to smartphone shopping. The retailer was first in the UK to launch the self-shopping service over a decade ago and was also the first to offer the service to all myWaitrose customers via their smartphones. Now, it is the first UK supermarket chain to roll out a new customer facing scanning solution to all its stores, empowering customers to scan codes from their smartphone screen at the checkout, without handing over their phone.
THE CHALLENGE
"We know that many of our customers are shopping little and often and therefore want the most convenient shopping experience possible. Being able to complete a whole shop using only a smartphone means that our customers can scan and pack as they go, and then pay with their phone. The dynamic world of smartphone technology means that the future capabilities of this app, such as personalised offers and detailed product information are endless.” Matt Clifton, Head of Retail Change and Development, Waitrose & Partners.
While the launch of innovative mobile apps like Quick Check improve the instore shopping experience, a change was required at the checkout. For data to pass from the customer’s mobile phone to our point of sale systems, a barcode is generated and needs to be scanned. “Whether customers were completing a shop using the Quick Check app or simply wishing to scan their MyWaitrose ID from within the Waitrose & Partners app, we wanted to find a way to enable this data exchange without the customer’s phone leaving their hand,” comments Clifton.
Jamie Dickinson, retail sales director, UK&I at Datalogic explains, “There is growing and genuine anxiety among customers about relinquishing possession of their mobile phone. Many of our customers fear that this anxiety could limit loyalty programme and app usage, however perhaps of greater concern, is how to provide customers with the convenience of using their phones while ensuring complete peace of mind that the device never has to leave their hand.”
THE SOLUTION
The Datalogic Gryphon GFS4400 scan engine provides an excellent solution to give control to customers while minimising disruption to the existing point of sale infrastructure. With the help of a customised mounting solution from Ergonomic Solutions, the compact customer facing scanner is securely installed just under the pin entry device (PED) at each of Waitrose’s manned checkouts nationwide and enables customers to take control of the scanning process.
The Gryphon GFS4400 is capable of reading both 1D and 2D barcodes and offers excellent performance when reading from mobile devices. In addition, customer facing scanners have the potential to greatly speed up the checkout process as apps or paper coupons can be scanned concurrently alongside items in the customers trolley or basket. With a continuous scan mode, data is captured whenever a barcode passes into its field-of-view and positive scans are confirmed to the customer via Datalogic’s patented ‘Green Spot’ technology, which omits a green light as well as audible confirmation when a barcode has been successfully captured.
THE RESULTS
“The Datalogic Gryphon scanners offer a simple yet very effective solution that allows our customers to remain in complete control of their mobile devices. In addition, the devices play a critical role in helping us to streamline the checkout which ultimately helps us provide an exemplary instore experience for our customers.”, states Clifton.
Dickinson concludes, “As retailers strive to find ways of reinventing the customer experience in store, Datalogic’s continued goal is to support its clients with technology that will deliver those experiences and make customers feel closer to the stores and brands they love. We are delighted to have worked with Waitrose & Partners as they continue to innovate and empower customers nationwide.”
