Look Inside: Sam’s Club Now

Sam’s Club Now is part warehouse club and part test laboratory. Located in Dallas, the format is a 32,000-square-foot testing ground for the retailer’s technology innovations.Computer vision, machine learning, augmented reality and artificial intelligence (AI) all come together to offer Sam's Club Now shoppers a mobile-first shopping experience powered by the new Sam’s Club Now application. In fact, Sam's Club recently unveiled updates to its Scan & Go service — which lets shoppers scan and pay for items via mobile — that the retailer is testing on the Sam's Club Now app to make scanning items faster and easier by eliminating the need for locating a packaging's barcode. On a visit to Sam’s Club Now last month, P2PI scanned the aisles to see how the shopping experience stacks up.Due to the concept’s small size, the inventory at Sam’s Club Now is limited, offering less SKUs and focusing primarily on grocery and fresh items.A “Grab & Go” refrigerated wall display at the front of the store stocks pre-made read-to-cook/eat foods like flatbread pizzas and salads as well as beer and nonalcoholic beverages.The produce, meat & seafood, frozen and sushi perimeter departments are clearly labeled with large signage aiding with navigation. The retailer says that smart maps will soon be available via the app that use wayfinding to help shoppers find products even faster.The retailer also has added some AR-enabled entertainment for kids. When shoppers hold their smartphones (or the provided tablet) over a “magicart” it turns the shopping cart into a spaceship or pirate ship, for example.Sam’s Club Now is also testing AR on certain products to provide preparation and pairing ideas and visuals.Noticeably present in stores are digital price labels. It’s no surprise that Sam’s Club’s is testing the tech to streamline operations as more retailers (including Best Buy) also conduct similar experiments.In the wine and beer section, digital price labels additionally serve as descriptive shelf talkers, providing flavor descriptions, serving ideas and ratings. A long wooden gondola display stocks an assortment of wines in wooden bins with affixed price signs.The club also offers:A charging station for smartphones and tablets near the entranceTV screens on endcaps playing ads on a loop.Hundreds of cameras in the club to help manage inventory and “optimize the layout to make shopping effortless,” according to Iannone.Same-day club pickup (and one-hour pickup) with designated parking area in the front of the store.View more images from Sam's Club Now here.

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