Walmart could completely ditch checkouts if a current test is anything to go by

Sam's Club are implementing an innovative new way of shopping in their stores by axing checkout lanes.

The Walmart owned members-only retail giant has gone all-digital in their newest store giving customers a glimpse of what the future may look like.

Due to open in mid-October the outlet will see customers use their smartphone to download an app called Scan & Go which will then tally up their purchases as they walk through the aisles.

• Walmart makes Thanksgiving closure announcement for 5th year in a row with statement concerning employees
• Walmart shopper humiliated as she films herself shoplifting at self-checkout and gets caught by AI

In one area where the company will display online-only items ranging from a 12-foot Christmas tree to a five-carat lab-grown diamond where Members can scan the QR codes to be taken to the items in the app. Sam’s Club CEO Chris Nicholas said “It’s kind of the physical manifestation of a journey we’re trying to go on as a company.”

Walmart founder Sam Walton opened the first Sam’s Club in 1983 and in recent years The club has pioneered several innovations that parent company Walmart now uses too including Scan & Go. It’s digital business is also making moves to outdo its largest rival, Costco. The Dallas-area store has had a major update ahead of reopening almost two years after it was damaged by a tornado.

Nicholas detailed how the location will become a testing ground for new Sam’s Club’s as well as emerging technology. He said: “The idea is that over time, we will be 100% digital engagement as a business, and you’ve got to prove that things work before you scale them,” before adding that he hopes “it feels like what it’s like to shop in the future.”

• Walmart cracks down on shoplifters with new checkout feature tested by stunned TikToker
• Walmart shopper slams 'hateful' clerk who demanded receipt - despite $332 spend

Peter Keith, senior research analyst at Piper Sandler detailed how Costco has always been “the king of the warehouse club channel,” but that Sam's Club have added new features to “upgrade the shopping experiences.”

One such feature is Scan and Go which “really eliminates the most painful part of these membership clubs, which is the long lines to check out,” he said.

Despite the two retailers having roughly the same number of U.S. clubs, Costco makes roughly twice as much annual revenue. Net sales for Sam’s Club totaled $86.2 billion in its most recent fiscal year, compared with $176.63 billion for Costco’s U.S. clubs.