The Sam’s Club, the membership warehouse belonging to Walmart, deploys a major change to its system of payment of the grocery store and embracing artificial intelligence (IA).
The retail giant plans to eliminate traditional funds in its 600 stores and create a buying experience without friction which will include customers scanning goods on the move with an application, then the AI scanner checks the goods as customers leave. Technology would eliminate the need for reception checks at the door.
The system, known as “Scan & Go”, was initially launched in April 2024 and allows members to use the Sam’s Club mobile application to scan their products.
The last announcement adds the AI check, known as the “Just Walk” / “Just Go” output, to the process and will see the option to eliminate traditional payments.
The new plans were announced by Chris Nicholas, president and chief executive officer of the Sam’s Club, who described the company’s growth ambitions at his community investment meeting in 2025 last week.
“This is one of the fastest and most evolving transformations in retail today,” said Nicholas. “We invest in intention – in our fleet, our partners and the experience of members – to become the best club retailer in the world.”
The company said that its newly open store in Grapevine, Texas, already had the “Just Walk” / “Just Go” system in place and that this store “will establish the standard” for the club for the future. The new store has designed to make purchases faster, smoother and more pleasant.
This store is also designed by thinking of AI to create a better working environment for workers with upgrades like a vertical tire carousel, automated forklifts and a pizza robot at the coffee.
“It is a place where the design and technology centered on man meet convenience and discovery, offering an overview of the future of retail,” the company wrote in a press release in December.
Walmart, on the other hand, is experimenting with AI technology and monitoring risks and benefits.
Costco, the main rival of the company, adopts the opposite approach and only sticks to traditional checkouts.
The SAM club said its 100,000 partners remained at the heart of the company’s momentum.
The company said that the adoption of AI tools to rationalize repetitive tasks has improved both operational efficiency and associated commitment, while there has also been investments in wages and career progression opportunities.
The SAM club said that new technology would allow more time to improve the members’ experience.
“When a member has a significant and positive interaction with a partner, he is more likely to renew – and to remain faithful,” said Nicholas. “We build a culture that supports our partners as much as our members, because this is how we win.”
