What is really happening at the Delhaize checkouts in Braine-l’Alleud
I don’t know if you saw it, but there has been quite a bit of noise around Delhaize’s checkout system, and more specifically around the one at the Delhaize store in Braine-l’Alleud.
So I looked into it. I searched. And I couldn’t find any official statement from Delhaize on the subject.
That struck me as quite surprising. Because if Delhaize were officially testing a new checkout system in one of its stores, I would expect the information to be communicated, or at the very least, that I would be informed as part of my work.
And then I read different things here and there. A test. A U-turn. Stories about theft. Different interpretations depending on the article.
In short, it wasn’t exactly clear.
In this kind of situation, I did what I believe any good Retail Influencer should do: go and see for themselves. So I went to the Delhaize store in Braine-l’Alleud to understand what was really happening.
And I was welcomed by Nicolas Thery, the affiliate who operates the store, who took the time to tell me the whole story.
The facts
Improving flow
The store was completely refurbished in 2010. My 20/CENT view: it is a pleasant, clean and well-organised store, fairly classic by Delhaize standards.
Originally, the store had six traditional checkouts and a self-scan area.
The issue was that this self-scan area was not necessarily optimal in terms of flow, according to Nicolas and his fellow affiliates. And this is an important point, because 55% of the store’s customers now use self-scan.
There was, in particular, an issue related to controls. With the system in place, when a control was triggered, the process could result in the entire basket being checked rather than just a few items. It is easy to imagine how this could create friction in the customer journey.
So the franchisees asked themselves a fairly simple question: could this checkout area be improved?
The idea was also to rethink the organisation of the traditional checkouts.
Another element: cash.
Cash payments had been removed from the self-scan area during the Covid period. As a result, a customer who wanted to pay in cash or withdraw cash had to go to a traditional checkout. The franchisees therefore wanted to explore a system that would bring cash back into all checkout journeys and give customers more choice.
They looked at what was being done elsewhere, consulted different suppliers and considered several options.
And they decided to test a hybrid system, different from a conventional traditional checkout.
The objective was multiple: improve flow, reintroduce cash payments across the different checkout journeys and, incidentally, better control losses linked to self-scan errors, whether intentional or unintentional.
But a test is also an experiment.
And an experiment means listening to the people who use it. That is precisely what happened.
Some customers liked the new system. Others raised concerns.
Some, in particular, felt that the cashier was ultimately further away from the customer with this hybrid system.
Among self-scan users, another point emerged: some people deliberately choose self-scan because they want to avoid interacting with a member of staff. The new system, however, introduced more interaction.
So the franchisees listened.
And they adjusted.
The famous “U-turn”
This is where the story becomes quite different from what I read in some articles.
The franchisees did indeed change the setup following the initial feedback.
But this change was not driven by some story of massive theft or by some kind of checkout revolution. No customers showed up with threatening signs, and certainly not the staff.
Quite simply, the new system was not universally popular with customers. Some liked it, others less so. So the franchisees considered that this needed to be taken into account.
Today, the store therefore offers several options: six self-scans, three hybrid checkouts that have been improved based on feedback, and five traditional checkouts.
And the three models coexist.
The hybrid system can make sense for certain customer profiles: someone with several children and a large trolley, someone who wants more space, or a person with reduced mobility, for example.
And contrary to what some descriptions might suggest, interaction with staff is not necessarily a problem: it is part of how the system works.
The same applies to controls.
Yes, there are rules. But in practice, staff retain a degree of discretion and are even briefed accordingly.
For example, a customer with three bags and a €160 or €170 basket will not necessarily be treated in the same way as a customer with three bags worth €50. That makes sense. There are controls, there are rules, but there is also experience and common sense.
And above all, the different models now seem to operate fairly smoothly.
Cash has also been reintroduced across the different checkout journeys.
My 20/CENT
So here I do feel like saying: all that for this?
Because after reading the different articles, you could have got the impression that we were witnessing a major strategic Delhaize test about the future of checkout.
In reality, the story is much simpler.
It is not Delhaize that officially decided to test a new national checkout concept.
It was franchisees who asked themselves a very concrete question in their store: can we do better?
They looked at what was being done elsewhere.
They consulted suppliers.
They came up with a solution.
They tested it.
Then they listened to their customers.
And when the feedback showed that not everyone was convinced, they adapted the setup.
For me, that is precisely where the real story lies.
One of the strengths of a franchise network is also its ability to experiment locally with solutions that the central organisation may not have thought of, or to test an approach in a very specific context.
And here, I find it interesting to see that the Braine-l’Alleud franchisees tried, listened and adjusted.
That is actually quite a good illustration of what experimentation in retail should be.
Because the grocery checkout remains a major source of friction today.
You can obviously reduce the debate to two easy words: “theft” or “removing cashiers”.
But reality is much more complex.
Checkout needs to be fast.
It needs to be seamless.
It needs to accommodate different customer profiles.
It needs to support different payment methods.
It needs to limit errors and losses.
And it needs to find the right balance between technology and human intervention.
In short, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
And wanting to improve it seems perfectly normal to me.
Is the system tested in Braine-l’Alleud THE solution?
Obviously not.
One store is not the same as another.
One neighbourhood is not the same as another.
Customer profiles are not the same.
A solution that works in one store may very well not work elsewhere.
And a solution developed by one retailer will not necessarily be relevant for another.
What I take away most from this visit is therefore less the checkout system itself than the approach.
Test.
Observe.
Listen.
Correct.
And start again if necessary.
And I would add one final thing.
When something doesn’t seem clear, especially in retail, rather than rushing in and interpreting what you see from a distance: go to the field.
Look.
Ask questions.
Talk to the teams.
Talk to the customers.
And then form your own view.
Because sometimes, between what is being said about a store and what is actually happening there, there is simply… a store.
That is how simple — and essential — being on the ground is.
DelhaizeCheckoutBraine L'alleudFranchisePosRetail Tech