Attention Walmart shoppers—you may now speed through checkout using your mobile app. That would be in one Toronto store where the giant retailer is trying a self-checkout system that uses the My Walmart mobile app. Walmart is no stranger to mobile self-checkout as all its Sam’s Club stores employ its successful Scan and Go smartphone app. Walmart tried this in selected U.S. stores, but then discontinued it. The Canadian version seems very straightforward and has highly visible signage in the initial store. Customer adoption and reaction will be worth watching. Amazon Go stores receive most of the headlines. But mobile app self-checkout systems present a very viable method for retail stores of all sizes. Lower installation costs and the opportunity to further engage customers via a mobile app are two good reasons.
A Business Insider article discusses more on this topic which is excerpted below.
- Walmart Canada debuted a new checkout system called “fast lane” that lets customers avoid cashiers and registers.
- Customers scan order barcodes in the “fast lane,” then show their receipts to a Walmart worker before exiting the store.
- The system has debuted in a newly opened store in Toronto that Walmart says will serve as a prototype for future store renovations.
Here’s how it works: My Walmart users scan items with their phones as they shop. Once a user is finished shopping, they click “checkout” to receive a barcode.
Next, the customer scans the order barcode at one of four scanning stations in the fast lane.
This action charges the credit card the My Walmart user has on file.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group
