Fast-growing dm goes all-in on self-service

Dm-drogerie markt was founded in 1973 by Prof Götz W. Werner in Karlsruhe. Today, dm is Germany's best-selling drugstore chain. Every day, up to two million customers shop in the more than 2,100 dm shops across Germany. The chain has spread its wings over the years, and you can now find dm shops in 12 European countries.

COOPERATION BETWEEN DM AND PAN OSTON

The cooperation between Pan Oston and dm dates back to 2015, when dm opted for Pan Oston's belted checkouts. With the rise of self-service in non-food retail, DM proved to be an early adopter. At an early stage, dm contacted Pan Oston to start implementing self-checkouts in their shops. Based on the ESSENCE SCO, Pan Oston developed a custom self-checkout that met all of dm's functional requirements and featured the colours and branding to reflect dm's corporate identity.

PILOT PROJECT AND ROLLOUT

At the end of 2021, an initial pilot project was launched in Stralsund, and the first dm self-checkouts were successfully commissioned. This was soon followed by the rollout of self-checkouts at dm shops in Germany and other European countries where dm operates. In June 2024, a milestone was celebrated with the delivery of the 1,000th dm self-checkout, and today around 2,600 self-checkouts are in use at 900 dm shops across Europe.

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

Over the years, dm self-checkout has been continually developed and improved in close cooperation with dm. The focus is always on optimal customer experience, and trouble-free operation. We also consider it essential that our devices meet all TÜV requirements, not just today, but also in the future.

ACCESSIBILITY

dm aims to make its shops accessible to people with disabilities, as well as comply with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) directive that came into force on 27 June 2025. Therefore, an EAA-compliant self-checkout is being developed at Pan Oston. The self-checkout is based on the design of the DM self-checkout, but with a modified pedestal that provides wheelchair users with more foot and knee space. The self-checkout features a low-positioned additional touchscreen to facilitate readability and operation.

SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION

The implementation of self-checkouts at dm has proved to be a great success. Customers have quickly embraced them, offering a quick and easy way to check out their purchases without queueing. Figures from 2023 and 2024 show that in dm shops with self-checkouts, an average of 30% of all transactions are settled via self-checkout, with outliers of up to 50% in some shops.

The introduction of self-service has not hurt DM either business-wise. Self-checkouts have a smaller footprint than traditional belted checkouts, making more floor space available in-store for a wider range of products. Staff can be deployed more flexibly, and employees have time to provide extra service or perform work other than just dealing with checkout tasks.