With many retailers changing shoppers’ checkout experience, Sam’s Club is trying to make the process faster and more efficient for consumers.
How are they doing it? AI.
Rather than waiting for a Sam’s Club employee to verify your receipt before exiting, which can slow things down and take a bit of time, the membership club has turned to artificial intelligence. The new receipt verification system has officially rolled out in over 120 stores across the country, effectively getting shoppers through the exit faster than before.
“I’m incredibly proud of this 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.”
How does it work?
The goal of the new technology is to confirm that shoppers are leaving with everything they paid for – and nothing else. However, instead of waiting for an employee to do a manual check, the new technology gets the job done faster.
Now, exit areas in hundreds of Sam’s Club locations have been updated to include devices that take pictures of shoppers’ carts and verify payment.
The implementation of this technology was a natural fit at Sam’s Club because of the setup already in place for Scan & Go. This feature allows shoppers to bypass standard checkout by using the Sam’s Club mobile app to scan purchases as members move throughout the store.
“With AI working in the background to continually speed up the process, this digital innovation not only streamlines the members' exit but allows members to refocus their time and expertise to assisting members and ensuring they have an enjoyable shopping experience,” the company said in a statement.”
Getting out of the store faster
With this new technology, Sam’s Club is achieving its goal of helping shoppers get out of the store faster. Since the AI software has been deployed in 20% of Sam’s Club stores, shoppers have been leaving the store nearly 25% faster.
The goal now is to expand this new technology into all 600 Sam’s Club locations by the end of the year.