0 Comments Lidl is rolling out 'futuristic' new check-outs across UK stores (Image: Paul Maguire/Getty Images) This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald. Lidl is rolling out new “fancy pants” self-checkout machines in all its UK stores. The machines feature overhead cameras, large vertical screens, and LED lights to alert staff when assistance is needed. Customers will even appear on the screens as they scan their items. The new self-checkouts will be installed in all new stores and gradually retrofitted into existing locations. Lidl’s parent company, Schwarz Group, is behind the design, which is also being introduced across hundreds of Lidl and Kaufland stores in Germany. To make space for the upgraded machines, manned checkouts in many stores have been taken out to create more space for self-checkout. The machines display “VAR-style” footage to shoppers during the scanning process, with shoppers dubbing them "futuristic" and "fancy pants". As with the current system, customers must scan the receipt printed by the machine at the exit gate before leaving the store. The newest self-checkouts are appearing in all new stores, and being gradually retrofitted into existing ones. A Lidl spokesperson added: "They are designed to be more customer-friendly, enhancing the shopping experience while boosting efficiency. "They will also appear alongside our traditional tills. "
It comes following a checkout change from fellow supermarket Morrisons earlier this year. The supermarket has updated a “significant proportion” of staff-operated and self-service checkouts across all of its UK stores to make them “more efficient”. Some customers noted new, sleeker black versions of the technology to replace the older checkouts, as part of the big refresh which aims to provide “excellent levels of service”. A Morrisons spokesperson said previously: “Since May 2025, we have been updating a significant proportion of both colleague-operated and self-service checkouts across all of our stores to make them more efficient, with the refresh due to complete very soon. “The new technology will ensure we can continue to offer our customers excellent levels of service, now and into the future. ”
The change to checkouts is not the only one Lidl is making, as it has expanded its self-scanning service Lidl & Go to more UK stores. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lidl GB (@lidlgb)
The scheme follows a pilot in seven stores and is now available in locations across Scotland, the South East, and the wider South of England.