V-Markt Express

Following a practical test of the FastLaner® in Munich, Wanzl’s overall verdict was positive, revealing a high level of customer acceptance and high resulting usage rates. In addition, a concept has been developed for retail media integration in the smart shopping cart. The first practical test of the V-Markt Express at the V-Markt store in Munich’s Euro-Industriepark district has been completed. The pilot project provides important insights for the further development of networked self-checkout and express services in large-scale retail. The focus was on the interaction of multiple checkout formats in day-to-day operations: FastLaner®, mobile handheld scanners, stationary self-checkout terminals, and Smart Exit.

Reality check for large-scale retail

The location was deliberately chosen to be challenging. Spanning approximately 183,000 square feet (17,000 square meters) of retail space with around 300,000 listed products, the store combines food, non-food, home improvement, service counters, bottle return operations, peak hours, and highly diverse shopper profiles. It was precisely this level of complexity that made the store on Maria-Probst-Strasse in Munich the ideal test environment. The intention behind the new express services is to demonstrate how technology, store workflows, customer use, and employee perspectives interact, not under laboratory conditions, but in everyday life at the store. “The pilot project has shown that express services are particularly relevant in large-scale retail if they are designed to work as a networked system,” says Stefan Huemer, Vice President Digital at Wanzl. “For us, it was crucial not to look at how the solutions worked in isolation, but at how they interacted with store workflows, technical stability, and customer guidance systems. These findings are directly incorporated into enhancements to the FastLaner® and future checkout concepts.”

High acceptance and significant usage

The latest evaluation clearly reveals a fundamental openness toward the new offers. This was based on 14,600 sessions from February to mid-July with an average shopping time of 23:31 minutes. In terms of mobile express services, handheld scanners accounted for 62.6 percent of use and the FastLaner® for 37.4 percent. As a result, the smart shopping cart achieved significant usage in day-to-day store operations and was perceived as more than just an innovative format. Customer acceptance was also reflected by repeated use: During the pilot period, 30 percent of FastLaner® users and over 61 percent of self-checkout users returned to use the offer more than once. Over 80 percent of respondents found the express services useful to very useful and intuitive to use. In addition to saving time, key factors included curiosity, the fun of trying something new, the feeling of being addressed directly, and support during the introduction phase. “For day-to-day store operations, it is crucial that new services make shopping easier, not more complicated,” says Dominik Endres, IT and project manager at V-Markt. “The results show just how important freedom of choice is: Customers were free to choose whether to check out using a traditional cashier, self-checkout, shop with a handheld scanner, or use the FastLaner®. At the same time, the pilot project confirmed that personal support is a key factor for success, especially in the early stages.”


Insights from ongoing operations

Another key finding: The services were not just used for small convenience purchases. Over 17 percent of the sessions lasted longer than 45 minutes. In addition, the internal evaluations indicate more extensive shopping baskets when using mobile express services. During the pilot period, the total value of purchases was in some cases significantly higher than previous comparable figures from before the new services were introduced. In addition to usage and acceptance, the pilot project clearly highlighted which factors are crucial to the operation of networked express services. These include freedom of choice, employee involvement, system stability, and active customer approach. During live operations, key technical and operational areas identified for optimization included Wi-Fi stability, scanning processes, POS handover, special applications such as fuel vouchers, and item and promotional price recognition. These issues were quickly analyzed during the course of the project and optimized together with the partners. “In a project under real conditions, it quickly becomes clear how important stable processes and clean integration are,” says Günther Glogger, Head of Development & Project Management at DRS. “Particularly when different checkout formats interact with existing processes, we gained valuable insights for future operations and technical development.” Mobile user guidance was also a key factor for success. New services must do more than just function technically; they must be intuitive for customers to understand and fit seamlessly into their specific shopping situations. “To be well received, the benefits of mobile checkout services need to be immediately obvious,” says Nico Müller, CCO of shopreme. “The positive evaluation and recurring usage show how important simple user guidance, clear processes, and a coherent mobile experience are for the acceptance of these services.”


Spotlight shifting to retail media

An additional area of insight is retail media on the shopping cart. As the project progressed, the topic moved further into focus. With its integrated display, the FastLaner® provides the opportunity to digitally extend traditional store flyer offers, integrate product recommendations directly into the shopping experience, and establish new forms of industry partner communication at the point of sale. During the pilot phase, Wanzl collaborated with V-Markt to implement a practical retail media concept for the FastLaner® in terms of technology and concept. Stephanie Jordan, Business Development Manager for Digital & New Biz, emphasizes that the system must work seamlessly in a retailer's day-to-day operations: “The core of the conceptual consideration was to develop a retail media concept that could be implemented quickly with minimal implementation effort while remaining commercially viable. The traditional flyer was deliberately chosen as the starting point, with its content seamlessly transferred to the digital shopping cart. The goal was to demonstrate how existing retail communication can be efficiently transferred to a new retail media channel. At the same time, the concept opens up potential for context-based offers, effective targeting, new tooling models, and systematic success tracking. The decisive factor for long-term success is to ensure that the content offers tangible added value for end consumers and integrates seamlessly into the shopping experience.” Following the completion of the pilot phase, the systems will remain in use until the end of 2026.