How to develop a Scan & Go app for self-service stores
Karen Savage
Head of Sales at Anyline
These days, it seems like apps are popping up everywhere – to the point where virtually anything you want to accomplish is likely already available in app form. One of the most exciting of those, particularly for people in the retail space, takes the form of the Scan & Go app. As the name suggests, this is an app that allows customers to scan products on their own, at which point they can pay right for their phone and leave without needing to interact with anyone.
Of course, this poses the question – how do you develop one of these self-service apps of your own? What is the process? What technologies do you need? Read on to find out.
What are the hot trends in retail right now?
But first, it’s important to acknowledge some of the hottest trends in retail at the moment and how they may fit in with your vision for a Scan & Go app.
Chief among these are the self-service kiosks, the vending machine stores, the smart carts and similar technologies. These have become particularly popular over the last two years given everything going on with the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Self-service kiosks let a customer interact directly with a company, getting service at their convenience.
- Vending machines are more of a situation where someone may walk into a retailer like a supermarket, see walls of vending machines with various goods, purchase them directly and then walk out.
- Smart carts, on the other hand, literally scan items as they are placed into a shopping cart. That way, people are charged automatically and they don’t have to interact with personnel.
The easiest trend, however, is undoubtedly the Scan & Go app.
What is Scan & Go?
As the name suggests, Scan & Go is a technology that allows customers to scan items via their barcode on a smartphone, tablet or other type of mobile device. They can scan items as they pick them up and then, when they’re ready, pay for their entire order right from their phone. This is also commonly referred to as mobile checkout-less and it’s a way to both personalize and generally improve the overall customer experience that you’re able to offer.
How can Anyline be integrated?
Anyline’s solution can effortlessly be used to turn a user’s mobile device into a barcode and ID scanner by integrating mobile data capture to any app or website. It supports a plethora of different platforms thanks to a specially built SDK.
The Anyline software development kit is easy to integrate and is backed by support from a dedicated team of customer service professionals. Maintenance is easy and upgrades are effortless – allowing it to act as the rock-solid foundation upon which your Scan & Go app will be built.
To find out more information, or to get answers to any questions you might have, please contact the team at Anyline today.