Sam’s Club Is About To Change Its Checkout Process in a Big Way

Unless you’re one of those people who really loves it, grocery shopping can feel like a chore. And, sometimes, it’s one of the most stressful and chaotic chores of your entire week—especially if you’re shopping for a big event or gathering. 

Just the thought of stepping foot into a big box store the week of Thanksgiving could get our heart rate pumping. So anything a store can do to make shopping easier for the customer we’re interested in. 

It seems Sam’s Club is paving the way for a seamless shopping experience with its new checkout innovations.

Sam’s Club Is Opening a Digital-Only Location

Earlier this year, Sam’s Club announced it would add new technology to its clubs that would eliminate the need for an employee to individually scan every guest’s receipt on the way out the door. New exit arches compare your receipt to the items in your cart to ensure the items have all been processed and purchased correctly, but the computers do it faster than the employees could.

Sam’s new walkthrough trusses are being added to all clubs nationwide now, but it’s taking the new tech even further at one Texas store. 

On Oct. 17, Sam’s Club opened a new club location in Grapevine, Texas, that is the brand’s first all-digital store. The new location will implement the exit trusses, as well as eliminate the current checkout process altogether. That means the store will rely completely on Sam’s Club’s Scan & Go feature. 

Scan & Go, which is available via the Sam’s Club app, has been in use club-wide for years and allows customers to shop and scan at the same time. Once you’ve scanned all the items in your cart via your smartphone, you can pay directly on the app, then head to the exit—where either an employee will scan your receipt or you’ll simply walk through the new trusses. 

At the Grapevine location, customers can only shop via Scan & Go and will exit via the three trusses at the front of the store—making it a fully digital experience. 

Where the traditional checkout area would be there is an “omnichannel showroom” instead, according to Sam’s Club’s senior manager of corporate communications, Steven Zapata. This area is used to showcase the “‘treasure hunt’” items, like the beloved Enzo storage cabinet and seasonal finds, as well as products found exclusively on SamsClub.com. 

While Scan & Go will replace the regular checkout process—and, therefore, the need for cashiers—Sam’s Club says there are “no changes to the number of associates staffing this club.” There will still be employees to assist members—especially at the exit—however, the goal is that the tech will “free up” associates to focus on other tasks, like fulfilling online orders.

The Grapevine store serves as the first-ever all-digital store, but it will also be an “innovation center” for Sam’s Club to test new technologies and non-technical initiatives that it may bring to clubs in the future. 

Walmart, which owns Sam’s Club, quietly tested a similar technology earlier this year. However, because Walmart Scan & Go is only available to paid Walmart+ subscribers, the store couldn’t close down checkout lines permanently. Instead, some Walmart locations have closed the self-checkout lines in favor of traditional cashier-led registers. 

Is the future of grocery shopping centered around shopping via our smartphones? It’s not clear yet. But, what we do know is that Grapevine, Texas, Sam’s Club members will have a hand in making that decision.