AI promises to enhance the retail checkout experience
Sam’s Club unveiled a vision for the future of retail at its recent 2025 Investment Community Meeting — a shopping experience free from traditional checkouts and receipt verifications. Central to this vision is the expansion of its AI-powered “Just Go” technology, designed to streamline the exit process and enhance customer convenience.
Continuous Innovation of the Checkout Experience
The “Just Go” system builds upon the previously announced AI-Powered “Scan & Go” Exit Technology, allowing members to scan items using the Sam’s Club mobile app as they shop. Upon exiting, AI-powered computer vision and digital receipt-matching verify purchases, effectively removing the need for manual receipt checks, a common pain point among club shoppers.
The company’s new Grapevine, Texas, location serves as a real-world showcase for this technology. Described as a “tech-forward flagship,” the store does not feature traditional checkout lanes. Instead, it’s outfitted with intelligent exit gates and backroom robotics like automated forklifts and a vertical tire storage carousel. This signals Sam’s Club’s larger ambition to blend physical and digital retail infrastructure across its 600+ U.S. clubs.
“We’re investing with intention, in our fleet, our associates, and the member experience, to become the world’s best club retailer,” said Chris Nicholas, Sam’s Club president and CEO.
Empowering Associates, Not Replacing Them
While automation in retail often raises alarms about job losses, Sam’s Club is clear that it is not replacing associates with AI systems. “Sam’s Club’s 100,000 associates remain central to the company’s momentum,” as stated in the company’s recent announcement.
Instead, the goal is to free associates from manual tasks like receipt checking so they can focus on higher-value, member-facing roles.
For example, AI-driven inventory systems can now autonomously track stock levels and trigger replenishments, which allows staff to prioritize personalized service and in-aisle engagement. This shift not only enhances the customer experience but also opens up internal opportunities for upskilling and advancement.
Retail Industry Still Experimenting with AI-Enhanced Experiences
In contrast, Sam’s Club’s main competitor, Costco, has been slower to adopt digital checkout alternatives. The wholesale giant still relies on physical receipts and exit greeters to manually verify purchases, a system many shoppers accept as part of the brand’s in-store culture of savings and trust. Costco has made investments in warehouse automation and e-commerce, but remains cautious in replacing human oversight with AI.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Amazon Go, which pioneered the “Just Walk Out” model. Amazon’s convenience stores, and more recently full-sized grocery stores, use ceiling-mounted cameras and shelf sensors to automatically charge customers as they leave. However, the model remains niche. Despite the hype, Amazon recently announced it would pause further expansion of Go stores, citing high operational costs and complex scalability issues.
Sam’s Club’s approach that integrates receiptless exits into existing store formats and mobile-first tools may prove to be a more cost-effective and scalable version of the Amazon Go vision.
As Sam’s Club’s parent company, Walmart provides both a testing ground and strategic umbrella for AI innovation. The retail giant has made significant investments in automation, from intelligent shelf-monitoring robots to AI-powered delivery logistics, but has not yet rolled out widespread “Just Go” checkout systems in its supercenters.
Instead, Walmart has focused on a hybrid model: self-checkout kiosks, scan-and-go options, and advanced mobile payment tools to offer flexibility. Sam’s Club, with its membership model and controlled store environments, acts as an ideal incubator for cutting-edge tech that might later be adapted for the Walmart ecosystem.
Globally, other retailers are also experimenting with AI-powered checkout. Alibaba’s Hema stores in China use facial recognition and app-based checkouts, blending physical and digital shopping with embedded loyalty programs. Meanwhile, Decathlon in France and Tesco in the UK have piloted RFID-based checkout-free experiences, although at a smaller scale than Amazon or Sam’s Club.
Carrefour, one of Europe’s largest grocers, launched an AI-powered “Flash 10/10” store in Paris in partnership with tech firm AiFi. Like Amazon Go, it promises “10 seconds to shop, 10 seconds to pay,” though it’s limited to select locations.
These examples underscore a key trend: while fully autonomous stores are becoming more common globally, most retailers — like Sam’s Club — are pursuing hybrid solutions that balance tech innovation with operational pragmatism.
The Road Ahead for AI-Enhanced Retail
Sam’s Club is not just automating for speed, it’s rethinking the member experience for a digital-native generation. With plans to open about 15 new clubs each year and modernize dozens more, the retailer is setting a fast pace for the adoption of AI at scale. The appointment of Diana Marshall as Chief Experience Officer further highlights the company’s prioritization of tech-enhanced personalization and data-driven service.
By aligning AI deployment with customer needs and employee growth, Sam’s Club positions itself at the forefront of the next wave in retail transformation, aiming to not just build better stores, but a better way to shop.
