Without cashiers: how to buy goods by scanning barcodes

[CUK77]

Supermarkets offer Scan & go solutions for the purchase of goods and how to use them - read the review.

Last week, the Silpo chain launched the ability to buy goods by scanning their barcodes in the trading floor. Previously, this function was available only in two supermarkets of the chain and only to certain users, and to connect it was necessary to leave a request in the contact center. Now the Vilnokas service has become available in 60 stores, mainly in Kiev (in total, the chain includes 262 stores), and by default it is available in the wide piloting of the Scan & go project to about 75,000 participants.

I tested the service even before the official launch. Now I also want to compare it with similar services available:

1. Retail Group was the first in Ukraine to launch the scan-and-go service - the service became available in Velmart and Velyka Kyshenya stores with the Pick & go application (formerly Pikalka) in the spring of 2019.
2. Around the same time, the ability to pay for purchases appeared in three Fora stores, where a pilot took place to pay using a separate independent yoCard application.
3. In April 2020, Fora launched the ability to scan and pay using its own application, the Fora Pei service became available in a large number of stores.
4. Actually, after the test in the Fora stores, which together with Silpo are part of the Fozzy group, the service appeared in the Silpo network.

Additionally:

• In Rozetka, you can scan a barcode and immediately add an item to the cart, as well as pay. But even if you do this in a physical store, you will not be able to leave immediately - you will have to wait until the order is processed.
• Since 2019, in two of the three Vostorg stores in Kharkov, Vostorg Smart, a service for self-scanning of goods in the trading floor, has been operating.
• Also, in the near future, it is planned to introduce such a technology at ATB (on June 1, the application added the ability to scan the barcode of a product to get a price).

So, in order. In each of the applications, you need to log in and add a bank card or connect a Masterpass wallet. After that, to purchase, you must:

Pick & go​

1. When launched, the application prompts you to enable geolocation. However, even if such access is allowed, to start shopping, you still need to find and scan the starting QR code in the store. Also, for some reason, Bluetooth is automatically turned on on the smartphone.
2. We scan the product or enter its barcode manually.
3. We direct the application to the “finishing” QR-code located on the self-checkout checkout screen (a small life hack: the same code can be used as a starting one).
4. Select a card for payment and click “Pay”.
5. The purchase is paid, we receive a receipt from the terminal at the checkout, and the receipt is also saved in the purchase history.

Notes:

1. Despite the inclusion of GPS and Bluetooth, both functions are not used in the shopping process and do not help to identify the store.
2. Sometimes, when scanning the start code or simply finding an application in the background (for example, a call came in), Pick & go throws it out for authorization - and you have to re-enter the phone number, and then the code from the SMS.
3. In the store, in which I tested the service several times on different days, there was no QR code at the entrance, and there were not enough QR codes on the trading floor. Why is it important to have a QR on the sales floor? Because from time to time the application "glitches": it is reset to the "Scan the starting QR code in the store" mode and you have to search for such a code again. It is good that after rescanning, it is proposed to restore the list of previously added products.
4. It would be nice to add a default card setting to the application so that you don't have to select it every time to pay.

In the reviews on the Play Market, there is also the following question: “Why does the discount program of the great swarm (1%) not work with the application? So far, the discount + credit card is more profitable than the application “.

If the application did not have two important bugs, it would be very easy to use and its flow could be recommended as a benchmark.

YoCard application and yoCardPay service or "Kishenkova Kasa"​

Testing was carried out in the fall of 2019.
1. Without GPS, the application does not work, although the store still needs to be confirmed.
2. We scan the product or enter its barcode manually.
3. We answer the question about packages.
4. Select additional offers or skip this step.
5. To pay, you need to enter with your CVV card.
6. After payment, the application generated a barcode, which had to be shown to the guard, after which he printed a receipt.

Notes:
1. I would recommend not to force the client to choose a store if his GPS coordinates match the coordinates of a particular store. Or add the ability to scan the starting QR code.
2. If you select the first two items in the question about certificates and points, but there are no bonuses, then there will be another screen with the purchase amount. You can skip it in this case:
3. For payment it was necessary to enter the CVV code. The client may not remember him, he may be afraid to enter and change his mind about making a purchase. You need to make purchases easier: for example, it is possible to tokenize cards, there are payment options without CVV (especially since the card and CVV were already checked when added). There are also services Masterpass and Click to Pay (recently the service was called Visa Checkout).

4. In total, to buy in the fall of 2019 in yoCard, it was necessary to press 12 buttons on 10 screens, this is a lot.

"Fora" and "Silpo"​

The Fora and Silpo applications are completely identical, as well as the process of making purchases with their help:

If the function is not available, it can be connected using the contact center.

1. You need to click the trash can icon in the left or right corner of the main screen.
2. You need to allow the use of GPS, the function does not work without it.
3. We scan the product barcode or enter it manually.
4. Click “Go to payment” and scan the QR code from the application with a cash register scanner.
5. At the checkout, select a payment method and pay.

Notes:

1. GPS again. I would add QR codes at the entrance and in the store, since GPS in buildings does not always work quickly and correctly, plus it drains the smartphone's battery (you can see in the video that it works constantly, and not only when determining the location of the store).
2. During the scanning of goods, the image in the scanner freezes and it seems that the application freezes - it can be seen even in the advertising video (this is not the case).
3. It is logical that if the scanning of goods was in the application, then the stage of choosing a payment method can be skipped and the process can be accelerated - pay with bank cards added to the application. But the company decided to leave the possibility of paying at a self-service checkout with ordinary bank cards. Perhaps this is necessary for the transitional period - until all clients, for some reason, add cards to the application (to the Masterpass wallet).
4. The payment process itself - to bring the QR from the smartphone to the cash register reader, and then select the payment method on the cash register screen - makes you stand a little and think, this is unusual. Although the usual payment process using the application at the Silpo self-service checkout does not raise any questions.

Summary and FAQ​

• If the scanner cannot read the barcode, most applications allow you to turn on the backlight (flashlight).
• In each of the above options (Pick & go, yoCard, "Handicap" and "Silpo"), the goods do not need to be put on the scales, but can be immediately folded into your bag or package (ie the weight is not checked).
• You don't need to scan two identical products - after scanning the first one, just swipe and its quantity will increase. You can also reduce the amount.
• Of course, as with ordinary purchases, you have the right to be asked to check the grocery list when leaving, and in yoCard earlier this was almost a mandatory requirement - the security guard printed the receipt of this purchase.
• When buying alcoholic beverages, you will need the help of an employee who is always nearby.