Sam’s Club has recently announced that it is implementing new AI and computer vision technologies to improve the customer experience and save time waiting in line for receipt verification when exiting.
“This is Sam’s Club at its very best, listening to feedback from members, putting their needs at the center of everything we do – and then applying digital innovations to deliver an industry-leading member experience,” said Chris Nicholas, CEO of Sam’s Club. “We are constantly looking at ways for Sam’s Club to be the most convenient membership club and will continue to prioritize using technology to provide a truly differentiated and delightful experience for our members.”
Building on Sam’s Club’s existing technologies such as Scan & Go, which allows customers to scan items as they shop and show an employee the receipt on their way out, the new technology is currently in running pilots in 10 Sam’s Club locations. According to the announcement, it is able to seamlessly confirm that members have paid for all items in their shopping carts without requiring an associate to check member’s purchases before leaving the club.
Before this technology, members were required to queue at the store’s exit while waiting for the greeter to review their receipt, which many members noted as a pain point, especially during busy periods. Now, after a member completes payment at a register or via Scan & Go, a combination of computer vision and digital technology deployed in the exit area of the club captures images of carts and verifies payment for all items within a member’s basket. With AI working in the background to continually speed the process, this digital innovation not only streamlines the member’s exit, but also allows exit greeters to refocus on assisting members and ensuring they have an enjoyable shopping experience.
With the AI program learning and improving across any of Sam’s Club’s thousands of items and exit transactions at multiple locations, the company said it will continue iterating and enhancing the technology through early 2024, intending to rapidly expand it to its nearly 600 clubs by the end of the year.
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