Ahold Delhaize to roll out NFC shelf edge labels in supermarkets across Europe

Nfc shelf edge label in front of coffee capsules
SIMPLY SCAN: Shoppers tap the NFC electronic shelf edge labels to add items to their basket for self-checkout

European supermarket group Ahold Delhaize is to equip its stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Czech Republic, Serbia and Romania with NFC-enabled electronic shelf edge labels that shoppers can tap to obtain more information about a product — and then add the items to their shopping basket so that they can self-checkout on their mobile phone.

The rollout follows a self-checkout pilot that has been running at the group’s Delhaize Fresh Atelier store in Brussels since April 2019.

The YesWeScan pilot allowed customers to scan product barcodes with their smartphone and then add the items to an electronic shopping basket. They could then check out on their mobile phone and receive a receipt via email.

The retail group is working with electronic shelf edge label (ESL) provider Hanshow Technology on the project.

Hanshow’s ESLs combine e-paper displays with active NFC technology to enable shoppers to interact with the labels “for additional product information or for easy payment with their mobile phones”.

“The digital applications we will develop through this partnership will enhance the customer experience in our stores and allow us to operate more efficiently,” says Wouter Kolk, Ahold Delhaize’s CEO for Europe and Indonesia.

“This is an important step for Ahold Delhaize and our local brands to offer an easy and attractive shopping experience to our customers.”

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