Self-checkout technology milestone for Lidl Ireland as food retailer's 100th store goes live

Lidl Ireland is celebrating a self-checkout technology milestone. In a LinkedIn post, it said: “We are thrilled to announce a major milestone in our mission to provide the best shopping experience in Ireland: our 100th store (Lidl Fonthill) has officially gone live with self-checkout (SCO) technology.”

It added: “We’re investing €10.7 million to modernise how you shop. But this isn't just about new screens - it's about giving you time back. Our data shows that using SCO is 55% faster, and since rolling them out, customer satisfaction has jumped by 9%.”

It is also investing €2.7 million to upgrade traditional manual tills. New till furniture featuring extended belts and dual packing areas is being rolled out across the country. These provide customers with more space to pack their groceries comfortably, while allowing store assistants to begin serving the next customer immediately.

Lidl Ireland concluded: “A huge shoutout to our project and store teams for making this rapid roll-out possible while continuing to deliver the best service for our customers.”

The retailer made its debut in the Irish grocery market in 2000, and now has over 5,000 colleagues across 190 sites in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Self-checkout technology will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.