Sam’s Club has opened a store that will serve as an innovation centre to test new technology and non-tech initiatives from which it will apply learnings to current and future clubs.
One of the first things shoppers are likely to notice in the newly opened, 150,000sq ft Sam’s, located in the Dallas suburb of Grapevine, Texas, is that there are no traditional checkout counters or self-checkout kiosks.
Instead, customers must use the retailer’s app-based Scan & Go tool, which allows members to use their mobile devices to scan items as they shop, complete payment and skip the checkout line entirely.
To help members quickly exit after finishing shopping, the store features three automated “exit trusses” (arches) that use artificial intelligence and computer vision to digitally check a customer’s cart and verify their online receipt. The standard Sam’s has only two.
The area typically occupied by the checkout has given way to a dedicated space, described as an “omni-channel showroom,” that showcases Sam’s online-only items. Members can scan QR codes and go straight to the items in the app. At opening, a 12ft Christmas tree and a Mercedes SUV were among the items on display.
Additionally, approximately 6,000sq ft of space has been dedicated to getting online orders ready for fulfilment, either via pickup or delivery. That’s four times the standard fulfilment space allotted in other Sam’s.
