Dive Brief:
- Sam’s Club said Tuesday it plans to introduce an artificial intelligence and computer vision-based technology to verify that customers have paid for all the items in their carts. The technology will eliminate the need for a store associate to check or scan receipts at the exit.
- The digital verification technology is being piloted at 10 stores. Sam’s Club said it plans to expand the technology to its nearly 600 locations by the end of this year.
- Sam’s Club announced the initiative at CES in Las Vegas. The company said it’s the first retailer to use the digital receipt verification technology at scale.
Dive Insight:
Sam’s Club said the AI-powered receipt verification is another way to improve the shopping experience, alongside tech like scan-and-go, which allows customers to bypass the checkout line by scanning and paying for their purchases in-app without waiting at a register.
In a blog post, Sam’s Club said the initiative will free up time for associates to assist shoppers. According to the company, waiting for a receipt check before leaving the store is a consistent pain point in the customers’ shopping experience. Implementing digital technology is one way to improve convenience.
“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,” Sam’s Club CEO Chris Nicholas said in a statement. “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.”
In an email to Retail Dive, a company spokesperson said in-house Sam’s Club engineers built the technology. The seamless exit technology is currently being piloted at nine locations in the Dallas metro area and at one store in Joplin, Missouri, the spokesperson said. The company declined to share the total cost of the investment.
The AI-powered checkout tech was one of several initiatives Sam’s Club and Walmart announced this week. Others include a generative AI search feature for customers who use iOS and the latest version of the Walmart app. With generative AI, customers can search for products by use cases and the technology delivers results across multiple merchandise categories. The technology can also factor in location, search history and other relevant information to deliver more refined search results.
Artificial intelligence is also the foundation of the company’s InHome Replenishment service, a new feature of InHome delivery. AI will help anticipate when shoppers need to replenish certain items and add those to their shopping cart automatically, using a personalized algorithm. Customers can still control the orders, which will be delivered to their pantries or fridges, by adding an item or skipping products that aren’t needed. InHome delivery is an enhanced service available with a Walmart+ membership.
Finally, Walmart said this week it’s planning to make drone delivery available for 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth region – about 1.8 million additional households across 30 towns and municipalities. The company said the move will give it the largest drone delivery footprint of any U.S. retailer. Drone companies Wing and Zipline will handle the deliveries.
“Our first few months delivering to Walmart customers have made it clear: Demand for drone delivery is real,” Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said in an announcement. “The response has been incredible from customers ordering drone delivery from Walmart every day, and it’s a testament to our partnership that we’re now expanding our footprint to bring this innovative delivery option to millions of Texans.”