On course for success with innovative technology: three more REWE Pick&Go stores in Düsseldorf and Hamburg

REWE leads the way in checkout-free shopping in Germany. The group is trialling hybrid stores in Cologne and Berlin that offer conventional payment methods alongside the seamless Pick&Go checkout option, as well as its Munich store which boasts fully automated Pick&Go checkout technology. Over the next few months, Pick&Go technology will be introduced at three further REWE stores in Düsseldorf and Hamburg (spring 2024). These include the largest Pick&Go store to date, with around 1,200 m2 of retail space.

The tried-and-tested REWE Pick&Go concept is enjoying growing popularity among customers. Feedback from customers is consistently positive, highlighting the technology’s simplicity, convenience, security and time-saving credentials. With REWE Pick&Go, customers’ purchases are recorded securely and with minimal data collection using the latest camera and sensor technology and then automatically invoiced when they leave the store, without the need to check out. This means that customers can now do the big weekly shop, grab a quick snack or pick up a few essentials without having to queue at the till.

Around 4,500 square metres of retail space and three new Pick&Go stores

With the support of specialist computer-vision technology partner Trigo Vision Ltd., the pilot is now being rolled out to other larger stores. Trigo’s solution generates a 3D model of a supermarket that digitally maps the environment and movements with minimal data collection. Over the next few months, the innovative REWE Pick&Go shopping experience will launch at two more stores in Hamburg and one in Düsseldorf. In Hamburg, REWE is increasing the retail space of a Pick&Go store to around 1,200 square metres for the first time, making it the largest store offering checkout-free shopping in Germany. REWE’s Pick&Go stores have a combined retail space of around 4,500 square metres.

Easy for customers – secure for stores

We are relentlessly pursuing our vision of always offering customers innovative shopping experiences that make shopping simple and convenient and save time. Our previous pilots demonstrate the popularity of Pick&Go. Its usage and recognition rates are consistently high. We see this as a good basis upon which to plan more stores and to roll out the pilot across the whole of Germany, Jana Sanktjohanser, REWE Pick&Go project manager. Data protection continues to be at the heart of the development and operation of the system. Data minimisation principles are followed when processing the customer images recorded by the system. They are used exclusively to enable checkout-free shopping in the store. The system only records data identifying items removed or placed back on the shelf, and does not use facial recognition technology or “remember” customers on subsequent visits to the store. The REWE Pick&Go stores in Cologne, Berlin and Munich are among the first supermarkets in Europe to allow customers to use this self-service shopping model under real-life conditions.