Sams Club makes major checkout change Costco rejected

Sams Club makes major checkout change Costco rejected | Latest Lifestyle News

• Sam’s Club wants to fix a major member pain point.

• It’s doing so by embracing controversial technology.

• After a pilot, the new technology is now being rolled out company-wide.

Every retailer faces a challenge when it comes to checkout.

They can opt for traditional checkout where a worker scans every item. That’s expensive, and lines can pile up during busier times.

Companies can also opt for self-checkout, where customers scan their own items.

• 77% of shoppers prefer self-checkout due to its speed and efficiency.
  Source: investor.ncr.com.

• 41% of Americans almost always use self-checkout when available, citing reasons including:
  62% for efficiency 44% for shorter lines 25% for control over bagging 19% for privacy and social anxiety Source: Capital One Shopping

• 66% of U.S. consumers favor self-service kiosks over staffed checkouts
  Source: PYMNTS.com

While the majority of people do prefer self-checkout, the technology comes with an increased risk of theft, both accidental and intentional.

• 15% of self-checkout users report having stolen an item; of these, 44% plan to do it again.

• 69% of consumers believe it’s easier to steal from a self-checkout kiosk than from a cashier.

• 33% of self-checkout thefts are accidental, such as failing to notice when an item doesn’t scan.
  Source: Capital One Shopping

But despite those numbers, the self-checkout industry has grown.

“The global self-checkout systems market size was estimated at USD 4.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 10.49 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 13.6% from 2025 to 2030,” Grandview Research shared. “The growth of the self-checkout systems market is being driven by several key factors, primarily centered around the increasing demand for automation and improved customer experience in the retail sector.”

Sam’s Club has been adding Scan & Go technology to its warehouse clubs.John Moore/Getty Images

While Costco has largely phased out self-checkout, Walmart’s Sam’s Club has embraced a version of it. The company offers Scan & Go, which is self-checkout through its app.

It had been testing that technology in select locations, but it has recently begun rolling it out across the entire chain. The company explained how the technology worked in a 2024 press release.

Scan & Go uses the Sam’s Club app to track and charge customers for the items in their cart.

“The technology is used to seamlessly confirm members have paid for all items in their shopping carts – without requiring an associate to check members’ purchases before leaving the club,” the company shared.

This makes the checkout process faster while also eliminating, or least lessening, accidental and intentional theft.

“Before this technology, members were slowed by queuing at the club’s exit area to have Sam’s Club exit greeters review receipts. Members continue to say they want a faster and more convenient shopping experience and consistently rated the wait times at the exit – especially during busy periods – as a pain point in the shopping experience,” the company added.

More Retail:

In theory, the Scan & Go technology does not require members to do anything.

“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,” Sam’s Club explained.

• 1992, First Self-Checkout: The first self-checkout system was installed by NCR at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, allowing customers to scan items themselves while supervised by staff.

• Late 1990s, Early Adoption: Major U.S. grocery chains like Kroger and Safeway began experimenting with self-checkout terminals to reduce labor costs and speed up lines.

• 2002, Expansion in the U.S.: Retailers such as Walmart and Target started rolling out self-checkout lanes widely, making it a common feature in supermarkets.

• 2013, Mobile Scan & Go Emerges: Walmart introduced a Scan & Go app allowing customers to scan barcodes on their smartphones as they shopped, bypassing traditional lanes.

• 2016-2018: Enhanced Mobile Solutions: Retailers including Sam’s Club, Kroger, and Meijer implemented more robust Scan & Go apps with integrated payment, digital receipts, and loyalty features.

• 2020: AI and Contactless Acceleration: The Covid pandemic accelerated adoption of contactless checkout technologies, including smartphone-based Scan & Go, reducing physical interactions.

• 2024-2025, AI-Powered Exits: Sam’s Club and other chains introduced AI-powered exit verification, eliminating manual receipt checks and streamlining the exit process.

Related: Costco quietly made a major benefit change

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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