Aldi customers are facing a crisis at the checkout – and now a discounter is stepping in

Shopping at discount stores like Aldi can sometimes be stressful for customers, especially at checkout. Long queues often cause frustration. But when you finally get to the cashier, time suddenly seems to fly by. A common annoyance is that customers have difficulty keeping up with packing their purchases.

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To put an end to this tension, discount giant Aldi is planning an innovation. Inspired by other supermarkets, Aldi wants to gradually introduce so-called self-service checkouts across the board. In these checkouts, customers can scan their goods, pay for them and pack them at their own pace – provided the next customer is not already waiting in the starting blocks.

Aldi relies on self-service payments

What initially started as a pilot project at Aldi will soon become a reality in branches after a successful testing phase. The first official introduction of this new cash register system is scheduled to take place at a branch in Karlsruhe.

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Other supermarkets such as Rio and Kaufland, as well as furniture stores such as IKEA, have successfully introduced similar concepts. Aldi plans to apply the same concept to its self-service outlets. Customers can basically pay themselves there and choose between paying with cash or card.

Despite the self-service, customers don't feel like they're completely on their own. An Aldi employee is available on site to intervene in emergency situations, for example, if an item is over-checked or another error occurs, reports the “karlsruhe-insider” portal.

Aldi is also leaving its classic cash registers standing

There is also good news for customers who would rather not do without their usual cashier. Although self-checkout will be introduced, there will still be traditional payments with cashiers. This is intended to accommodate older customers in particular who may be overwhelmed by the modern digital system.

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It remains an open question as to when self-service checkout can be expected to be introduced in other locations outside Karlsruhe. Aldi has not issued any statement yet. However, it may only be a matter of time before customers at other Aldi branches can also benefit from the new checkout system.