Sam’s Club is testing a checkout-free shopping experience, leaning heavily on its Scan & Go app to eliminate the hassle of long lines. The Walmart-owned membership club has reopened a store in Dallas, featuring a showroom-like space where customers can scan items with their phones as they browse everything from diamonds to cars, according to CNBC.
Peter Keith, a senior research analyst at Piper Sandler, highlighted the benefits of this innovation.
“It really eliminates the most painful part of these membership clubs, which is the long lines to checkout,” he said.
At the Dallas location, shoppers are greeted by high-end items like a Mercedes-Benz SUV and a sectional sofa, but no traditional checkout lanes.
The new store, which opened in mid-October, offers customers the opportunity to use the app to handle purchases as they walk through the aisle.
In the space previously reserved for registers, Sam’s Club displays online-only items such as a 12-foot Christmas tree and a five-carat lab-grown diamond, all accessible via QR codes that link to the app.
Sam’s Club CEO Chris Nicholas described the store as a testing ground for emerging technologies, including AI powered exit systems similar to Amazon’s Just Walk Out.
The club aims to attract younger shoppers, with Gen Z memberships increasing by 68% in the past two years.
While some customers are excited about the new tech, others are cautious. Sam’s Club has reassured customers that staff will be available to help with the transition to the Scan & Go app.
