Spar to trial self-service checkouts

Grocery retailer Spar is to trial self-service checkout technology in Northern Ireland after agreeing a pilot project with retail IT supplier Wincor Nixdorf.

The proof-of-concept pilot will help the supplier understand the retailer's needs, said Roy Ford, IT controller at Spar. He said the supplier's willingness to run a trial to prove the technology in a live environment was a key factor in Spar's decision to use Wincor Nixdorf.

"When developing IT solutions for independent retailers, it is key that any supplier you choose understands the need to prove new technologies - enabling us to demonstrate to [Spar franchise] retailers not only that the product works, but that it will bring real business benefits to their stores," said Ford.

Spar has almost 16,000 stores in 34 countries.

Sainbury's and Tesco both offer limited customer self-scanning in the UK, but it has yet to achieve mass acceptance.