Salvatempo App - Coop Alleanza 3.0

We collaborated with Coop Alleanza 3.0, the largest consumer cooperative in Europe with over 2.7 million members, to create the Proof of Concept (POC) for the Salvatempo App, an innovative solution integrating physical and digital shopping experiences. Designed to offer greater autonomy, efficiency, and sustainability, the app enables members to shop independently, using their smartphones to scan and pay for products directly, bypassing traditional checkout lanes.

The project, which combines the physical and digital worlds, was approached using the Service Design methodology, characterised by an initial discovery phase in which we mapped the user's journey across all the touchpoints involved in the shopping experience, and a conceptualisation phase in which we designed and tested potential solutions.

Strategic and operational benefits

By applying a user-centered approach and focusing on an integrated ecosystem vision, this initiative delivered significant results in innovation, sustainability, and improved member experience:

• Integration into a complex ecosystem: The app seamlessly integrates with existing systems and touchpoints, ensuring consistency between the physical and digital realms.
• Enhanced customer experience: The shopping journey has been redesigned to be simpler, more intuitive, and personalized, giving members greater autonomy and control.
• Operational efficiency: The "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) model reduces the need for proprietary hardware, significantly lowering maintenance and management costs.
• Effective collaboration: Coordination among various corporate departments and technology suppliers addressed and overcame complex challenges, maintaining alignment with Coop's strategic objectives.
• Sustainability: The dematerialization of membership cards and receipts reduced environmental impact, contributing to Coop's social responsibility goals.

Context: the advantages of contactless retail

According to TWC's 2020 report, "Forging a New Future in Convenience Retail", the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for self-scan checkouts and contactless payments: two-thirds of consumers prefer solutions that allow them to scan and pay independently.

The need for safe, regulation-compliant contactless retail accelerated the adoption of self-scanning and scan-and-go solutions in retail and grocery industries. These technologies not only support social distancing but also allow customers to use their smartphones to select, learn about, and purchase products.

Prior to the pandemic, self-scanning and mobile scan-and-go solutions had already gained traction among major supermarket chains, appealing to consumers seeking time-saving shopping experiences. In this context, Coop Alleanza 3.0 aimed to provide its customers with an innovative shopping experience that leverages technology to streamline purchases and enhance in-store safety.

Building on the success of the "Salvatempo" service, which utilized portable scanners and dedicated checkout kiosks, Coop Alleanza 3.0 extended this solution to mobile devices, developing an app that allows users to manage their entire shopping experience—from cart to payment—independently and securely.

The POC tested the feasibility of a digital service enabling members to shop autonomously, eliminating intermediaries and assistance. It also introduced a first step toward the digitalization of membership cards and receipts.

From Scan&Go to Salvatempo App

During the Proof of Concept (POC) phase, the project was developed under the name “Scan&Go”, highlighting the innovation and seamless integration of physical and digital experiences. This name served the testing and validation process in pilot stores, ensuring members could shop independently using their smartphones.

Scan&Go allowed Coop Alleanza members to scan product barcodes with their smartphones, adding items to a virtual cart. This solution provided customers with a real-time overview of their purchases, tracked total costs, and displayed savings from promotions and discounts.

The app also enabled direct payment through the app, using either the membership card or other digital payment methods, eliminating checkout lines and simplifying the shopping process. During validation, the project team worked closely with Coop to ensure every aspect of the experience aligned with customer expectations.

With the market launch, the product was renamed “Salvatempo App”, consolidating its connection to the existing Salvatempo service and positioning it as a natural, recognizable evolution within the Coop Alleanza 3.0 ecosystem.

Discovery: bridging digital and physical shopping

To understand the ecosystem surrounding Salvatempo App, we began by mapping the user’s customer journey, identifying areas for improvement and discrepancies between physical and digital experiences.

This phase included on-site store visits to analyze user flows, store layouts, and the strategic placement of QR codes and informational materials. Active involvement from store managers and staff helped identify physical challenges, such as poor network coverage. To address this, a dedicated Wi-Fi network was installed in pilot stores, ensuring smooth app functionality and a seamless user experience.

By reconstructing the overall user experience, we contextualized the in-app shopping flow within a well-defined physical space, providing a solid foundation for designing a cohesive experience across various physical and digital touchpoints.

Ideation: from ecosystem to product

Based on the gathered insights, we began designing the Salvatempo App by centering our efforts on existing digital environments familiar to users, such as Coop Alleanza 3.0’s website and official app, to ensure consistency in flows and interaction patterns. In addition to the core scanning functionality, we incorporated complementary services to enhance and simplify the user experience, including:

• Digital Wallet: Allows users to manage payment methods, including the membership card and credit/debit cards from major payment networks.
• Spending Area: Provides a centralized overview of transaction history and access to dematerialized receipts for viewing and downloading.

Our design work also extended to physical touchpoints in stores. For example, we integrated Salvatempo App into self-checkout flows, which previously only supported the original Salvatempo service.

Visual identity

From a visual standpoint, Coop Alleanza 3.0’s digital ecosystem uses a shared visual language adapted across touchpoints. For Salvatempo App, we maintained a consistent mood to facilitate potential integration with Coop’s app, optimizing workflows and reinforcing the ecosystem’s coherence.

Users transitioning between apps—from browsing offers to filling their cart and making payments—perceive themselves as moving between rooms in the same house: Coop Alleanza 3.0.

Iterate to simplify

Salvatempo App is a digital product dedicated to members seeking full autonomy during their shopping experience, complementing the less advanced Salvatempo terminal. The project was characterized by continuous iterations, including lab testing and field trials. User interviews conducted in pilot stores highlighted the importance of intuitive navigation and clear instructions, leading to incremental design improvements.

These insights enabled the team to optimize the payment flow and simplify Wi-Fi connection processes, enhancing the overall experience. These improvements laid the groundwork for the app’s future rollout, with plans to extend adoption to additional stores and enrich it with new features, such as further personalized promotions for members.

Looking ahead, Coop Alleanza 3.0 members will enjoy a comprehensive shopping experience that begins at home with browsing flyers, continues in-store with full autonomy, and concludes with contactless payment and digital receipt viewing.

The phygital era

The greatest challenge of this project was harmonizing the digital and physical worlds. As Cegid, a French company specializing in retail digital solutions, states, we have entered the "phygital" era, where the goal is to integrate physical and digital channels to design innovative, effective, and memorable experiences.

Approaching Service Design as the creation of experiences spanning multiple channels, contexts, and products, the Salvatempo App project allowed us to redefine how Coop members can shop independently within the Coop Alleanza 3.0 ecosystem. This digital solution not only enhances the shopping experience for Coop members but also solidifies Coop Alleanza 3.0’s role as a pioneer in phygital retail, anticipating the needs of a constantly evolving sector.