Sam's Club Scan and Go

[Olbidness]

Recently I tried out the new Scan and Go app at Sam's Club. I have to admit this is really convenient. You download the app, scan your member card and debit/credit card and you're all set. Walking around the store placing items in your basket you scan the barcode of each item. When finished select pay and a receipt appears and you head directly to the exit, totally bypassing the check-out line.
At the door someone scans the barcode on the receipt, and out the door you go. I guess I'm easily impressed with technology.

 

[Dawg52]

Sounds convenient. If I was a store owner I would worry about theft. I know there is someone that checks receipts against merchandise but not all are checked from what I have seen. At a Publix store on the gulf coast I frequent, they did away with the self check lanes because of theft. But maybe some experience enough savings on labor to offset inventory shrinkage from theft. Probably depends on the customer base.

 

[Olbidness]

I love the technology advances that make things easier and drive down costs. Sometime in the future I'll try the online grocery ordering from Walmart. For the most part I don't mind grocery shopping. Food, the acquisition and preparation makes up a lot my routine. I enjoy cooking healthy meals even though it's more time consuming. Last year, with some of my health problems it would have been nice to order groceries online and then just pick them up. I'd like to see how that system works.

 

[aza455]

I have been using the app since it's introduction about a year or so ago. It has made my visits to Sam's Club fun as opposed to a major chore which it was before the app. I am in and out of the store in a matter of minutes, no lines, no waiting anywhere, no need to keep a receipt in case something needs to be returned.

Overall, a phenomenal convenience without any trade-off. I have bought Walmart stock as I think it will increase sales and customer satisfaction .

 

[marko]

Sounds convenient. If I was a store owner I would worry about theft. I know there is someone that checks receipts against merchandise but not all are checked from what I have seen.

As someone said about Costco: "The person at the door pretends to check and you pretend not to be stealing anything".

Having said that, the cost of labor (pay, insurance, taxes etc etc) has gotten so high that a certain amount of 'shrinkage' is better than paying someone to be on guard. Remember too: a theft is at THEIR cost, not the sell price.

Funny story: When I was a teenager I worked summers at a grocery store. We got a new manager and on his first day he was telling me how he could spot a shoplifter a mile away. "See that guy over there? He's a thief".

I asked him how he knew as this was his first day, he never saw the guy before and the guy in question was a regular and came in every day. "Yeah, I bet he comes in every day to steal something" he said.

Sure enough, about two weeks later, they bagged this guy with 5 packs of cigarettes under his jacket.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

I haven’t seen this in my neck of the woods yet. We have Costco here, but no Sam’s club. The long checkout lines are the worst thing about the Costco experience, so this technology would help a lot.

Regarding the self-checkout kiosks and shrinkage, I’ve read that they actually drive sales for stores, because people will buy items they might feel embarrassed or reluctant to have a cashier handle. That could be anything from condoms to 3 pints of Häagen-Dazs and some cookies. I suppose one could buy all the above and really make an evening of it.

 

[aja8888]

...... That could be anything from condoms to 3 pints of Häagen-Dazs and some cookies. I suppose one could buy all the above and really make an evening of it.

Add a little white wine, a nice fire in the fireplace and you wouldn't even need the lights on!

 

[jazz4cash]

The Giant Food Stores around here have something similar. One version uses a handheld scanner that and you enter your loyalty (phone) number. You can scan items as you put them on your cart but the scanner is glitchy. You go through the self check line and pay as normal but several times I've been "selected for a cart audit". They check 5-7 items in my cart. Convenience factor is enhanced by the fact that we have a nickel surcharge on bags and I usually forget to bring my own. I get stares as I wheel my cart out and through the parking lot with unbagged groceries. Overall a huge time saver. I think there is an option to use a phone app also. The scanners are not popular at all.

 

[HFWR]

Add a little white wine, a nice fire in the fireplace and you wouldn't even need the lights on!

We look better in the dark; the wine goggles are helpful as well...

 

[Rustic23]

Have had it on my phone for over a year, but never think to use it!

 

[Sojourner]

At a Publix store on the gulf coast I frequent, they did away with the self check lanes because of theft. But maybe some experience enough savings on labor to offset inventory shrinkage from theft. Probably depends on the customer base.

That's interesting, and I've often wondered how widespread theft is at the Kroger where I usually shop. It's certainly easy enough to enter a 1 instead of 2 when asked how many avocados you're buying once you scan the bar code, and I'm sure some people do that kind of thing regularly. As for obvious theft (i.e. putting an item from your cart into your coat pocket instead of a plastic bag resting on the weight sensors), I'd have to believe there are hidden cameras watching each shopper as they check out.

I've occasionally forgotten something small and inconspicuous in my shopping cart going through the self-checkout, and I strolled right out of the store without paying, yet no one's ever stopped me... so I suppose the anti-theft measures are far from perfect. My Kroger is not too far from a large cluster of low-rent apartment buildings, so I'd guess there may be a nontrivial amount of theft going on, but apparently not enough to make them do away with the self-checkout lanes.

 

[big-papa]

Been using scan n go at Sam's exclusively. Regarding Costco, I've been sent back 3 times in the last 5 years when the person at the exit found error.

 

[HI Bill]

Have had it on my phone for over a year, but never think to use it!

We were going to use it last weekend, but had a bottle of wine in the cart, so no-go! Fortunately, the self-checkout lines had available stations!

 

[CaptTom]

I think it may be a regional thing. In one rural part of the country I was in recently (won't name names here!) we found the WalMarts were all like Fort Knox. No self checkout. Everything small of any value (some as little as $5) were literally locked to the shelves on some sort of locking dispenser. There were "guards" stationed at the doors to verify that you'd paid for everything. We found you'd be singled out for special questioning if you carried anything NOT in a bag. Even if it didn't fit in a bag, you'd have to carry one with the product to get out of the door without a hassle. And keep the receipt in hand, don't put it in your wallet!

In our (also rural) area, there's none of that. Most places have gone to self-checkout, and at some WalMarts it's sometimes hard to find a staffed checkout lane. I don't want to disparage anyone, but I guess there are just cultural differences with regard to theft.

 

[athena53]

I don't want to disparage anyone, but I guess there are just cultural differences with regard to theft.

I agree. Subway is my "go-to" place for meals on road trips. Some have all the bottles of pop and other drinks in a case where you make your selection and bring it to the counter to pay. In others, the case is behind the counter where only employees can reach it.

Back to the OT- I don't like Wal-Mart's business model so I don't have a Sam's membership. I might be willing to do this at other places if they make it user-friendly. I buy a lot of fresh produce and regularly buy alcohol and it's a pain to have to stop and wait to verify my age (I'm 65 so don't get asked to show ID) or fumble when the process for scanning weighed produce isn't intuitive.

 

[Rustic23]

Used it yesterday. It was quicker in that there was no waiting in line, however, getting out of the store was slower. I get the feeling not many people are using it, so the slip checker was slow. She had to go get a scanner, then change the program some how, then wait for the scan to verify the purchase. Not as quick as running a marker down the slip and looking at the basket to see you have approximately the number of things purchased.

 

[Olbidness]

Used it yesterday. It was quicker in that there was no waiting in line, however, getting out of the store was slower. I get the feeling not many people are using it, so the slip checker was slow. She had to go get a scanner, then change the program some how, then wait for the scan to verify the purchase. Not as quick as running a marker down the slip and looking at the basket to see you have approximately the number of things purchased.

Every time thus far using Scan and Go the checker has had to retrieve the scanner (nearby but not in hand). Which leads me to believe that it hasn't gone mainstream. The delay no where matches the time spent in the checkout line. If it does become a significant bottleneck I'm betting they add a second person to verify the receipts. The main slowdown for me seems to be those using Sam's for commercial purposes. Those flat carts loaded down really slow down the exit line, I almost never have more than a dozen items. Overall still a time-saver for me.