SPAR University Goes Cashless

Shoppers enjoy hassle-free purchases at SPAR University thanks to its brand-new cashless store concept.

SPAR International, a leading convenience retailer, has become the first cashless supermarket in the Netherlands after opening its store at Hogeschool Utrecht University on Wednesday 4th April. Students who visit the SPAR University store can leave their wallets at home. Instead, through SPAR’s new initiative known as ‘Skippen’ (or ‘Skipping’ in English), they can add products into their shopping cart by scanning QR codes and pay at the end with Tikkie, ABN AMRO’s online payment solution.

Kyra van Elswijk, Smart Client Manager at SPAR, explains that the brand-new concept is designed to make the shoppers even happier, “because the customer does not have to wait at the counter, the customer actually has a longer lunch break.”

This isn’t the first time SPAR University, a sub-brand of the SPAR group, has trialled the introduction of new project. In 2013, the same SPAR store became the first 100% self-checkout site where there are no cashiers present. SPAR’s move to cashless and cashier-less stores is part of its development plan to make shopping smart, simple and fast for customers.

The cashless store approach is not only convenient for SPAR’s shoppers but the technology behind the app opens many doors for SPAR in terms of personalisation and big data. It will be able to capture information on individual shoppers and grasp an understanding about their buying behaviour. This extra data will have many benefits, such as making sure that the right products are in the shop. SPAR has also suggested that it will be able to make personalised offers to shoppers based on their previous sales, giving them the opportunity to reward loyalty through the app.

Arguably, SPAR has picked the best location, Hogeschool Utrecht University, to test its new initiative as students are generally very accepting of new technologies. It won’t be long until we hear how the concept has been received.