Sam's Club To Launch First Fully Digital Store Without Checkout Lines

Shoppers can use a smartphone app called Scan & Go to scan their items as they shop

Walmart-owned Sam's Club is reportedly set to launch its first-ever fully digital store with no checkout lanes.

A store that was severely damaged by a tornado two years ago is set to reopen in mid-October, and act as a test-ground for the company.

Like other stores, shoppers can use a smartphone app called Scan & Go to scan the items as they shop but the store will apparently not have traditional checkout counters.

The members can scan QR codes at designated counters, adding the items directly to their cart in the app for easy checkout, CNBC reported.

The store is going to be much larger than other locations. Sam's Club executives said it will give store workers about four times more space to prepare for customers' e-commerce orders.

"It's kind of the physical manifestation of a journey we're trying to go on as a company," Sam's Club CEO Chris Nicholas told the news outlet.

"The idea is that over time, we will be 100% digital engagement as a business, and you've got to prove that things work before you scale them," he added, hoping that the experience would give a feeling of "what it's like to shop in the future."

The membership-based club, which trails rival Costco in sales, says it has focused on innovating various technological features, such as Scan & Go, which first launched in 2016.

According to the chain, most customers who joined the club in the latest quarter were millennials or Gen Z.

The company has recently unveiled several expansion initiatives, including raising hourly wages for nearly 100,000 workers ahead of the holiday season and plans to open 30 new clubs over the next five years.

In the July quarter, the retailer's sales rose by 5.2% compared to the same period last year, driven partially by a 22% year-over-year increase in e-commerce sales.

Addressing concerns that new technology could lead to job losses, Nicholas assured that there would be no reduction in staff. Instead, some employees would be assigned new roles, he added.

Walmart