After a successful pilot at a store in Grapevine, TX, Sam’s Club will redesign all 600 of its locations to remove both self-serve and cashier checkouts, requiring customers to check out using its mobile app.
Traditional checkouts will be replaced by a system known as Scan & Go, which allows members to scan products with the store app and complete their purchases directly from their phones.
The Walmart-owned membership retailer has been steadily transitioning members to its app, moving away from physical membership cards. Stores have also been encouraging shoppers to start using the app as soon as they enter.
Checking Out with AI
This new update adds a layer of artificial intelligence (AI) to the checkout process. An AI scanner verifies the goods as customers leave, eliminating the need for receipt checks at the door. Since Sam’s Club operates under a subscription model, theft isn’t as much of a concern as it would be at a flagship Walmart store.
“When people pay to be members, they tend to view shopping there as a privilege, which they don’t want to lose by behaving badly,” said Don Apgar, Director of the Merchant Payments Practice at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Shrink is not likely to be as much of an issue as it would be in general retail.”
Losing Personnel
One long-term goal is to reduce head count, which could be a risky proposition. While customers are being pushed to rely on their own phones for checkout, stores will still need associates to ensure a friction-free experience.
“Stores that went to self-checkout and redeployed cashier staff to other areas of the store where they could assist customers saw favorable feedback from customers,” said Apgar. “Stores that simply reduced staff damaged their customer experience. In the past, customers have always known that if they can’t find someone to help them in the store, there is always somebody at the register.”
It also remains to be seen how reliable the technology will be. Amazon’s similar “Just Walk Out” technology, which claimed to be based on AI, turned out to rely on teams in India monitoring store cameras.
“Several stores, including Target, offer this tech now,” Apgar said. “The question is whether AI will reliably audit those exiting the store—without resulting in a horrible customer experience.”
