Sam’s Club is doubling down on its tech-powered checkout experience—with promising early results. Its Grapevine, Texas location became the first to ditch checkout lanes entirely, nudging members toward the Scan and Go app and computer vision-powered exit arches. CFO Todd Sears shared a moment with a hesitant older couple who left smiling after scanning and paying with a swipe. Employee roles shifted from cashiers to tech guides, helping nudge adoption while freeing space for products that might otherwise live online. It’s a test, not a nationwide rollout (yet), but the retailer is betting some members are ready to skip the register entirely.
The digital experiment does appear to be paying off: Scan and Go usage has surged 50% over the past three years, now accounting for 35% of Sam’s Club’s sales. Nearly three-quarters of members are passing through the AI-driven exit portals each visit, shaving time off the dreaded receipt-check routine. Pandemic habits helped normalize the mobile-first experience, and Sam’s Club is trying to ride that momentum. Locations in Arizona and other remodels are next in line for test runs. Crucially, the company still offers help for cash payers or tech-averse customers—avoiding the risk of alienating core members during a membership boom.
Beyond efficiency, dropping registers also frees up floor space for expanded merchandise displays, often spotlighting online-only items. This “extended aisle” strategy pulls digital deeper into the physical club environment, potentially driving more app usage and cross-channel sales. Analysts say phasing in checkout-free zones could lower infrastructure costs and give shoppers a nudge toward digital loyalty—if Sam’s doesn’t move too fast. Still, they’re ahead of rival stores, and the willingness to test in live environments is setting a high bar.
Read more at Digiday.