No More Checkout Line at Sam’s Club Thanks to Mobile Payments?

July 19, 2016         By: Steven Anderson

The checkout line is one of the worst parts about shopping, but what if there were a way to get around it?

No, I’m not talking about shoplifting; I’m talking about a clever use of mobile payments that’s coming to Sam’s Club, and potentially, a similar version to other stores.

The Sam’s Club program is called Scan & Go, and it’s being tested now at a Columbia, South Carolina location.

Scan & Go isn’t exactly new, but it’s one of the first times such a program has been put into wide use.

Essentially, users will be able to turn their mobile phones into a floating checkout system, scanning UPC codes directly into the Scan & Go system, and then paying for the purchases from the same platform, meaning that the checkout lane is entirely meaningless.

Reports note that BJ’s and Costco are both offering both curbside pickup and online delivery, but this is the first time that a payment component has been introduced.

Sam’s Club store manager Josh Shearer commented “We’re excited to finally open our doors and be a part of the growth in northeast Columbia. Along with this brand new club, we bring new technology and convenience with our new Scan & Go shopping app and our enhanced Club Pickup ordering service.”

The pessimist out there might be convinced that this is just another way to get rid of cashiers by turning everyone into their own cashier, but that won’t be the case.

There are still plenty of people who prefer to shop with cash or card—we saw recently how Generation Z shoppers favor cash at brick-and-mortar, potentially because of the inherent limit built into the system—so for these people, cashier stations will still be needed.

If any proportion of these shoppers—even a quarter—can be removed, that makes the system that much smoother and faster for the rest of us.

While many of us may never shop at Sam’s Club, there’s no doubt that this is the kind of technology we’d all like to see.

Making it that much easier to shop at a brick-and-mortar outlet by allowing us to serve as our own checkout stand, it improves the experience and makes us all that much more interested in coming back.

Even those who don’t take advantage of the system benefit, and that’s worthwhile for all concerned.