Sam’s Club Plans to Double Down on Mobile Payments Tech in Dallas Prototype Store

For those not familiar with what a “skunk works” is, it’s basically a small offshoot of a larger operation that’s specifically geared toward downright aggressive development. It’s supposed to serve as kind of a testbed, finding out what works and what doesn’t with an eye toward finding things that will work on a wider stage. That seems to be just what Sam’s Club is poised to do with an upcoming store in Dallas, with the difference that this skunk works will be open to the public.

This new Sam’s Club, when it goes live, will still have the same membership requirements of any other Sam’s Club location. That’s about where the similarities stop, however, as this Sam’s Club will have some of the biggest new advancements in mobile payments and mobile shopping technology. Slated for inclusion: mobile checkout systems, in-store navigation, augmented reality, camera-based inventory management, electronic shelf labels, and even shopping with an artificial intelligence boost.

Sam’s Club has been working on this new ultra-store since June, and the original plan involves putting all this to work to see what works and what doesn’t. Reports suggest that the store won’t even have human cashiers at all, but rather hosts that work effectively like concierges. Customers will also get the option to place orders in advance, and then pick up said orders in less than an hour or even arrange for same-day delivery to their location of choice.

While certainly, Sam’s Club will learn what technologies work and don’t in an actual retail setting, the problem is they will only learn what technologies work and don’t in an actual retail setting in Dallas, Texas. What works in Dallas may be a complete flop in Omaha, Boise, Detroit or New York City, but all Sam’s Club has is information valid for Dallas and environs. Ideally, there should be a souped-up Sam’s Club in every state in the union. Granted, what works in Detroit may not work so well in Grand Rapids, but at least it’s closer

Setting up a skunk works to test mobile payments and other options is a great plan. Expecting the results of one such operation to be valid nationwide, however, may be pushing the point a little too far.