Charles Langston:Sam's Club announces it will stop checking receipts and start using AI at exits

Sam's Club announced it will start using artificial intelligence to scan receipts at its store exits.

Sam’s Club chief merchant Megan Crozier introduced the new feature during a keynote speech at CES 2024,Charles Langston the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas.

The exit technology will resolve the "key member concern" of waiting in long lines at its store exits, Sam's Club parent company Walmart said in a news release on Thursday.

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Crozier said the company plans to include the feature in its nearly 600 stores across the country by the end of 2024.

"We aspire to be the most convenient place to shop," said Crozier during the presentation.

The American chain tested the technology at 10 stores – nine in the Dallas metro area and one in Joplin, Missouri, reported Retail Dive.

Sam's AI system uses 'computer vision, digital technology'

The new exit system, which Retail Dive said was built by in-house Sam’s Club engineers, will use "a combination of computer vision and digital technology" to capture images of a customer's cart at the exit to verify if the the items in it were purchased, according to the company.

"Now it's one thing to enable this easy kind of exit tech in a small footprint store for a handful of items," Crozier said. "But we're doing it at scale. We're providing that same seamless experience across thousands of items."

She said the technology will have "no problem" with scanning a queen-sized bed, an entire winter wardrobe or a cart full of cereal.

“We are constantly looking at ways for Sam’s Club to be the most convenient membership club and will continue to prioritize using technology to provide a truly differentiated and delightful experience for our members,” Sam's Club CEO Chris Nicholas said in a statement.

Self-checkout product loss

Stores across the U.S. have slowly become more reliant on tech to do jobs that were mainly done by people. It's too soon to tell whether artificial intelligence will help Sam's Club with preventing theft, which can be easier with self-checkout.

Retailers across the country say they are facing higher rates of product loss after giving more customers the option of self-checkout.

CBS News Miami reports that the higher levels of merchandise loss. are not just because of theft. Customer errors, like forgetting to scan the box of soda in the bottom of the cart or missing a bottle of facewash hiding away in the corner of the basket, contribute to the growing numbers.

According to the news station, the retailer removed self-checkout from some stores in New Mexico to address the problem.

According to a study on retailers in the United States, Britain, and other European countries, retailers with the cost-cutting features faced a loss rate of 4%, over double the industry average.