Dive Brief:
- Sam’s Club customers leave 23% faster in stores with AI-powered receipt verification, the company announced Tuesday. The system, unveiled in January, scans carts and receipts faster than a human can by using computer vision.
- Automated receipt verification is available at 120 clubs, or 20% of all Sam’s Club locations, up from 10 in January. More than half of members are getting the automated experience in stores where it is available.
- Member satisfaction regarding the speed of exiting the club is up 11% at stores with AI-powered receipt verification, according to a Sam’s Club spokesperson.
Dive Insight:
Though AI-powered receipt verification differs from self-checkout, it shares the goal of streamlining the final leg of the store experience. Each process seeks to speed up the journey without putting an extra burden on the customer.
Self-checkout can fall short on convenience, and some retailers are rethinking their approach to fit their needs. Dollar General increased investments in staffed registers, while Target limited items at self-service lanes in pursuit of a better experience.
At Sam’s Club, shoppers can use the Scan & Go option to scan items and pay using the Sam’s Club app in addition to standard self-checkout.
AI-powered receipt verification and Scan & Go drive higher customer satisfaction among shoppers, according to Todd Garner, chief product officer at Sam’s Club. One in 3 Sam’s Club customers use Scan & Go on a regular basis.
Sam’s Club plans to deploy the AI-powered exit technology to all of its clubs by the end of 2024.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated what checkout options Sam’s Club offers. It offers self-checkout in addition to Scan & Go.
