An Insider on Iceland’s First Cashierless Store

Thordur Reynisson, CEO of Iceland-based convenience store Nær, discusses how the store developed a completely cashierless shopping experience.

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Self-checkouts have become commonplace in the retail world, but some stores are taking the next logical step in convenience and removing the checkout process entirely. Amazon Go stores are the most widespread example of this, but even small businesses are finding reasons to get in on the trend.

Nær’s cashierless system revolves around the use of customers’ smartphones. All shopping and scanning is done by customers themselves on their phones, eliminating the need for a large staff presence and allowing customers to do their shopping almost entirely autonomously.

“[Customers] download the Nær app and then log in using Iceland’s national electronic ID. You then use the app to open the [store] door, and now we know who is visiting our store. Then you scan items via the app, pay on the app and exit,” Reynisson said.

The app not only affords customers a seamless experience but also provides the store with actionable data instantly. This means that the store can see the shopping habits and preferences of different customers, enabling it to identify how long customers spend looking for items and to rearrange store layouts accordingly.

“During the first three or four days, we had over 1,500 people register as members through the app, and then we had over 1,500 transactions during the same period. So we were experiencing that customers were coming back after their first visit — even twice or three times a day — because it’s so easy.”