Saturday morning at Lidl: a full cart, a queue at the checkout, and ahead is the ritual — laying everything on the conveyor belt, waiting, packing it back. This part of the process is what the chain plans to cancel.
Lidl is launching the Scan & Go function in Slovakia, which will allow scanning goods with a smartphone right during shopping. The pilot in the first stores will start in autumn 2026 — this was confirmed by Lidl Slovensko spokesperson Tomáš Bezak in a comment to the Živé.sk portal. The system will then be gradually rolled out.
How it will work
All you need is a smartphone with the Lidl Plus app (Lidl Plus app, a loyalty app), which many already have installed for coupons and discounts.
- Open Lidl Plus at the store entrance.
- Put the product in the cart — and immediately scan its barcode with your phone.
- The app shows the purchase total live, so there are no price surprises at the checkout.
- At the self-checkout, scan the QR code from the app, pay — and go. No need to lay out goods on the conveyor belt.
One detail: the system may perform a random check of the cart contents, as already happens in other chains. So the scheme “scanned one bar, put three” won’t work, and you will still be responsible for theft in the supermarket.
Lidl is not the first — and that’s good
Similar self-scanning systems already operate in Slovakia at competitors. Tesco has the Scan & Shop service in 95 stores, and a similar solution exists at Kaufland. Lidl previously tested Scan & Go in Germany and Poland, including in the city of Stęszew — so the technology was tested before bringing it to Slovakia, writes Skript.
This means that the tested rules — checks, payment procedures, product returns — will come to Lidl already established, not raw.
The app becomes mandatory
Scan & Go will be integrated into Lidl Plus, which already includes a digital loyalty card, discount coupons, and payment via Lidl Pay service (Lidl Pay, a payment service). The chain’s idea is simple: the entire customer journey — from coupon to payment — should fit into one app.
What you should do now:
- Install Lidl Plus and register if you haven’t done so yet — Scan & Go won’t work without it.
- Link your card to Lidl Pay so checkout takes only a few seconds.
- Watch for app updates in autumn — the feature will appear there.
The biggest benefit will be for those who do large weekly shopping: the double “unloading-loading” of the cart will disappear, and budget control will be visible already in the store, not just on the receipt.
