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Lama Group Saves Money with Self-Service Technologies

Tomsk retail chain Lama Group installed the first self-checkouts. In 9 days, 34 % of buyers in the hypermarket paid for their purchases without assistance. The new technology helped the retailer reduce the salary budget by 22.5 % and attract more buyers to the store.

Lama Group Saves Money with Self-Service Technologies

Challenge

The Lama Group IT department actively uses software developments to improve the quality of the customer service and sales. Since 2019, they have been introducing self-service technologies and installed the first self-checkouts (SCO). The pilot project goal was to evaluate the efficiency of the self-checkout zone and reduce the retail outlet salary budget by 40–50 %.

To achieve the KPI, the comprehensive expert support for introduction of the new equipment was required.

63 stores in Tomsk and the Tomsk Region of Russia

Project rationale and progress

  1. Selection of experts and equipment
    The CSI’s experience in the design and implementation of self-service zones includes more than a dozen major projects since 2013 in Russia and the CIS; the company has its own calculation and replication methods, training and instructions for retailers.
    The pilot store has been equipped with: 4 Diebold Nixdorf checkouts for cashless payments, Datalogic scanners, and Pyrite 2F KKT.
  2. Selection of the right store for innovation
    The pilot SPAR supermarket (Tomsk) has a high non-cash payment rate (69 %) and a large share of young buyers due to its location.
  3. The project is based on the analytics and mathematical calculation
    The CSI’s analysts studied specific features and various indicators of the store. The mathematical model helped design a checkout zone option to quickly achieve the desired indicators.
  4. Ensuring software compatibility and adaptation to business processes
    The self-checkouts operate under control of Set SCO, which is part of the Set Retail front office system installed in the retail chain. The systems have been integrated with Loymax and Supra – external loyalty systems used by Lama Group.
  5. Installing an efficient self-service zone
    In the store, the SCO checkout area replaced the express checkout department, which had only opened during the peak hours and pre-holidays and had been idle the rest of the time.
  6. Thought-out navigation and buyers’ flow management
    The zone was designed according to the CSI’s recommendations. The box above the isle invited buyers with maximum 6 items. At first, this helped the store prevent queues of people who wanted to try the new technology.
  7. Project support and development
    In the first days, the CSI consultants and analysts monitored receipts, buyers’ behavior and other indicators, and provided recommendations for achieving the project's KPI as soon as possible.

Outcome

  • 34 % of customers have mastered the new format
    In 9 days, after the first CSR receipts were printed, 30 % of buyers paid for their purchases on their own. Two months later, up to 37 % of customers used the system on weekends. This result corresponds to the project forecasts, and has confirmed the demand for the technology: self-checkouts are 98 % utilized.
  • 1 cashier per 4 checkouts
    Now, 1 assistant cashier is enough for 4 self-checkout counters. The costs of finding and training temporary cashiers have been eliminated. With the installation of self-checkouts, the store's salary budget has been reduced by 22.5 %. To increase this indicator to 40–50 %, the zone was gradually expanded to 8 self-checkouts.
  • The less physical contacts, the more comfortable everyone feels
    One of the drivers for the new payment method’s popularity was the coronavirus situation. The self-checkout zone is spacious, and the monitors respond to touch in gloves: it is comfortable and hygienic.
  • Technology attracts new buyers
    The retailer reported an overall increase of the customer flow, meaning that the technology contributes to the more contemporary appearance of the store making it comfortable and interesting.
  • The plan is to achieve 50 % of autonomous purchases
    The launch of Scan&Go app is scheduled which is based on the current mobile loyalty app. It is being developed by the Lama Group’s software specialists. Customers will be able to scan their purchases in the sales area and just pay for them at the checkout.

Project timeline

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