The Sam's Club Now store has no cashiers and people pay with one app

October 29, 2018 / 22:12 GMT / Source: TODAY & # 39; HUI

By Sarah Jackson

Spending the weekends in big box stores like Costco and BJ's can be very rewarding (many great deals!), But also very tiring when everyone has the same idea and the command line gives the Impression of being 10 km long.

A member-based retailer society changes things by completely removing the crate – and it makes the mouth drop.

Sam's Club will soon open a new store in Dallas, Texas, which will not have a cashier, according to a statement made Monday by the company.

Named Sam's Club Now, the store will have an area of ​​32,000 square feet, about a quarter of the size of a standard Sam's Club store. Customers will only be able to pay using the new Sam's Club Now application, based on the company's Scan & Go application.

Customers will use the application to scan barcodes of items and pay for them – and the app will also feature many other features. Although the store, which is supposed to be a technological testing ground, will not have cashiers, it will have "hosts".

"Think of these associates as the club concierge," the company said in a statement. "We will give them a new technology that will allow them to serve the members better and faster.We have known for a long time that our people make the difference, and that will not change simply because of changing preferences. purchase."

The company did not indicate the number of cashiers generally employed in the Sam's Club establishments nor the number of guest members expected to serve in the new Sam's Club Now store.

In addition to paying with the new application, customers can use it to create a shopping list and navigate more easily in the store. It will even have a voice search capability to help customers locate products throughout the store.

The goal of the test store is to use technology to allow users to totally control their shopping experience.

"Sam's Club Now will essentially be a technology lab that will also serve as a retail club," the company said in its statement on Monday. "This is where we will incubate, test and refine technologies to help define the future of retail."

Another surprising feature of the store is electronic shelf tags that update automatically, eliminating the need to print new labels when prices change. In addition, members will be able to order items at the store within one hour.

The new store will even take advantage of augmented reality to show customers new uses for different products, for example. If this sounds like a strange version of reality, it's sort of like that.

"We also plan to use augmented reality to turn the digital baskets of its members into pirate ships," the company said. "Or maybe you prefer a rocket? More information about it soon!"

Sam's club did not elaborate on his confusing remarks about pirate ships and rockets, but he crossed his fingers to say that a situation of virtual reality was looming on the horizon. Now, this could make shopping in big box stores more fun.

The company has not yet announced the exact opening date of the Sam's Club Now, but if the test store becomes a hit, there is a good chance that going to the store at large area is much more exciting in the future.