Sam's Club members are likely familiar with the queues that can form at store exits during busy shopping times, where associates check receipts to confirm purchases. However, Sam's Club has announced that these bottlenecks will be significantly reduced nationwide by the end of the year, thanks to new artificial intelligence technology. At the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, the Walmart division unveiled a new AI-powered scanning system positioned at store exits. This system captures images of carts and verifies payment for all items in a member's basket.

The technology has already been rolled out in 20% of stores, with plans for implementation in all 600 locations by 2024. In the 120 stores where the AI scanners have been deployed, over half of customers have already experienced a smoother process, resulting in a 23% reduction in wait times for all members. Sam's Club proudly states that this swift deployment of their in-house developed AI exit technology represents the largest-scale implementation of member-facing AI-powered technology in the retail industry. Taking a jab at competitors without specifically naming them, Sam's Club mentions that other retailers have struggled to deploy similar technology on a large scale. Some have abandoned their efforts, while others are still in the initial testing phase or have no plans to enhance customer experiences through checkout and store exit technologies. According to the retailer, customers have long expressed dissatisfaction with potentially long wait times at exits, labeling it as a "pain point. " The new AI technology not only streamlines the customer experience but also allows Sam's Club associates to spend more time assisting customers instead of monitoring exits.