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Walmart has announced it is raising its starting hourly wage from $9 to $11 and Sam’s Club is set to close a series of clubs across the United States.
USA TODAY

Sam’s Club is fast-forwarding to the future in Dallas with a new store without any cashiers or checkout lines.

The store, Sam’s Club Now, will rely on the increasingly popular scan-and-go technology. Building on its scan-and-go app that it launched two years ago, Sam’s Club will be debuting a new a app—the Sam’s Club Now app—so that customers will pay for items on their phones instead of going through cashiers, according to a company statement.

“At its core, Sam’s Club Now will be a technology lab that doubles as a live, retail club,” said Jamie Iannone, CEO of SamsClub.com, in a statement. “It’s where we will incubate, test and refine technologies to help define the future of retail.”

The absence of cashiers won’t be the only difference in the new Texas location. At 32,000 square feet, the store is about a quarter of the size of an average Sam’s Club. Additionally, though membership will still be required as it is at other stores, the new store will include “Member Hosts” who will act more like concierges, according to the company.

At Sam’s Club Now, shoppers will be able to pay for items as they go. (Photo: Sam’s Club)

Sam’s Club’s new store follows a recent trend of companies embracing technology as a means of increasing efficiency in shopping processes. Kroger has a “Scan, Bag, Go” app that allows customers to log their items while they shop. Meanwhile, Amazon reportedly could open up to 3,000 cashier-less Amazon Go stores by 2021.

The move also comes at an important time for Sam’s Club. At the start of this year, the company announced that it would be moving or converting 63 stores.

According to Iannone, the company is “very close” to opening Sam’s Club Now in Dallas.

Follow USA TODAY intern Ben Tobin on Twitter: @TobinBen

 

 

 

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