Sam’s Club Just Announced a Controversial Store Change That Has Shoppers Divided

The exterior of a Sam’s Club store with a shopper walking in and away from it.
Credit: Jeff Bukowski / Shutterstock Credit: Jeff Bukowski / Shutterstock

Shopping at Sam’s Club just got easier — at least, according to some shoppers. The warehouse store is unveiling a new way to check out of stores when you use the Scan & Go shopping feature in the app. Normally, when you scan and pay for your products using Scan & Go, you’re presented with a digital QR code receipt that needs to be scanned by a Sam’s Club employee at the door before you leave.

But the new feature, which is rolling out at select Sam’s Club warehouses throughout the country, cuts down on the wait time and uses new scanning technology to double-check your cart. Just walk through after paying in-app and go!

“Sam’s Club is introducing a new scanning technology at the exit doors!” the creator behind the Sam’s Club Lovers Instagram account wrote in a recent caption. “That means no more manual receipt checks — just walk through and go! Sam’s Club plans to have these installed at all of their locations by the end of the year. What are your thoughts on this?!”

“I definitely used this recently,” one Sam’s Club shopper wrote in a comment, adding, “Very much worth having the app to skip the long lines.” Someone else said, “I like it … I use Scan & Go [and] when I walked through this. I was cleared! They didn’t scan my ticket. He just told me to have a great day!”

However, other Sam’s Club members say that the idea is good, but the technology isn’t quite there yet. “It’s at my club, but they still stop me the majority of the time,” one person said, with another writing, “My Sam’s is confused. They have that, and you STILL have to get your receipt and items checked.”

“This is pointless since there’s still a worker with a scanner after I pass this that still scans my code and items,” another person said.

In theory, this addition to the Scan & Go process sounds like a great idea. It may take some tweaking before the scanning technology is fully operational and can be rolled out to all Sam’s Club warehouses. But just imagine a world where you’re able to skip the checkout and receipt line for good — that’s something worth waiting for!