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If you are tired of having your receipt scrutinized on the way out of Sam’s Club like you are going through customs at a tightly controlled border, you’ll like the changes coming to the chain’s check-out.
Sam’s Club announced that they will be removing all self-checkout kiosks and traditional checkout lanes from its 600-plus stores. Customers will now be required to use the Scan & Go app to scan and pay for their items.
The retail warehouse company said the decision is part of its plan to “redefine the club model and set a new standard in retail.”
The check-out system, known as “Scan & Go,” was initially launched in 2016 and allows members to use the Sam’s Club mobile app to scan their products. However, the latest announcement adds the AI check, known as “Just Walk” exit, to the process, which will eliminate traditional checkouts, including the receipt checking at the exit.
Still, if you don’t have a smartphone you are not completely out of luck. A spokesperson for the chain confirmed that there will still be other checkout options available and customers won’t be left to fend for themselves.
“Other forms of payment will still be accepted for however members choose to pay and that associates will still be there to assist customers with Scan & Go and other new tools,” the spokesman said, adding that associates are not being replaced by AI, that their roles are evolving in ways that may allow them to engage more with customers.
“We’re testing and learning in real time to ensure we’re delivering solutions to meet the needs of our members,” the spokesperson said.
This is just one of many AI changes and transformations Sam’s is embracing. In their Grapevine, Texas location the chain is piloting a “pizza robot,” which can churn out 100 pies an hour.
Bob Ma, a venture capitalist with WIND Ventures who focuses on the retail market says this is just the beginning of a transformation.
“This is an exciting development in retail technology. It’ll make the checkout process faster by eliminating checkout lines, but this is just one step in developing a fully autonomous checkout experience,” Ma says, adding that it will eventually eliminate the need for customers to perform any checkout tasks, and rely solely on AI and computer vision for checkout.
Ma does say the retailer will have to watch for glitches in AI image recognition accuracy, shoplifting, and time required to generate a receipt.
Commerce platform VTEX’s (VTEX+0.51%) grocery survey shows that phasing out traditional checkouts aligns with rising consumer demand for seamless, tech-driven experiences, according to Dani Jurado, Executive VP, North America, Sales & Marketing. She says that the survey shows 69% of U.S. consumers now shop for groceries online, with nearly half ordering 26–50% of their groceries digitally. Shoppers prioritize convenience, transparency, and speed, with 45% valuing real-time tracking and 60% preferring home delivery.
“These are expectations that AI-powered, app-based checkout models can help fulfill in-store,” Jurado says.