Sam’s Club has announced progress toward its rollout of technology that resolves a key member concern – waiting in line for receipt verification before leaving.
The application of AI and computer vision technology has been deployed in more than 120 stores – 20 percent of the retailer’s total – since it was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Sam’s Club plans to bring it to all stores by the end of 2024.
According to Sam’s Club, this represents the largest-scale implementation of member-facing AI-powered technology in the retail industry and comes as other retailers have struggled to deploy similar technology at scale, with some abandoning efforts.
At stores where the technology has been deployed, more than half of members are getting the friction-free exit experience. This translates to all members leaving the club 23 percent faster, the company said.
The move to use technology to drive a better member experience builds on Sam’s Club’s other digital solutions, such as Scan & Go.
“I’m incredibly proud of the innovation and dedication of our team to deploy this member experience technology at scale,” said Todd Garner, chief product officer, Sam’s Club.
“Both exit technology and Scan & Go are driving new levels of convenience and raising member satisfaction among members. What distinguishes Sam’s Club from our competitors is our ability to seamlessly deploy this technology at scale across our nearly 600 clubs nationwide. Whether it’s a single item or a cartful, we’re revolutionizing the checkout experience.”
Exit Technology
Sam’s Club’s exit technology is used to confirm that shoppers have paid for all items in their carts, without requiring an associate to check purchases before leaving.
Customers were previously slowed by queuing at the exit to have employees review receipts. Consumers said they want a faster and more convenient shopping experience and consistently rated the potentially lengthy wait times – especially during busy periods – as a pain point.
With the technology, after a member pays, a combination of computer vision and digital technology at the exit captures images of carts and verifies payment.
Sam’s Club said it will continue iterating and enhancing the technology as the rollout continues.
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