Walmart has opened an upgraded Sam’s Club store in Grapevine, TX, as a new standard for what the warehouse club chain can be: a place where human-centered design and technology meet convenience and discovery.
The combination, according to Walmart, provides a glimpse into the future of retail, including its full conversion to no checkstand shopping using Sam’s Scan & Go function that uses shopping cart technology to tabulate purchases as shoppers add them so they can leave the store directly after shopping and even have items shipped to their homes. Member specialists staff high-top tables near the showroom to assist anyone new to Scan & Go in completing their purchasing.
The Grapevine Sam’s Club features a “dance floor,” as Walmart described it, an omnichannel showroom that provides shoppers with a differentiated experience, including a new way to interact with products. Sam’s now dedicates the space once occupied by registers to an integration of digital and in-person shopping. Integration at the Grapevine Sam’s Club includes signs with QR codes that alert shoppers to online exclusive specials they can directly access with their devices.
The store also features conspicuously placed assortments to make shopping trips more convenient. Meal solution presentations and a sushi island give consumers a chance to shop what they need without having to worry about getting dinner started, or lunch for that matter. Sam’s Club Grapevine also boasts a pizza robot that constantly prepares and bakes pies for consumer and employee consumption.
Sam’s Grapevine represents a Walmart investment in employee working environment as well as shopper experience, the company pointed out. Sam’s Club Grapevine has introduced AI and computer vision technology as aids to staffers, as well as upgrades such as a vertical tire carousel and automated forklifts.
In a third-quarter conference call, Doug McMillon, Walmart president and CEO, said his visit to the 150,000 square foot Grapevine Sam’s Club opening demonstrated the boldness of design, particularly given the no checkout operation. He also pointed out that the club offers expanded space to take care of curbside pickup and delivery orders, new category adjacencies with consumables near the pickup and delivery staging area and a stronger general merchandise presentation that has improved the sales mix of the categories that comprise it..
In the conference call, John David Rainey, Walmart executive vice president and CFO, noted that the Grapevine opening, one of 30 that Walmart has slated for the next few years, is an example of how Sam’s is evolving. He noted that, in response to member feedback, Sam’s Club added new perks in August, such as express delivery, and it eliminated curbside pickup fees for Plus members, which, he maintained, helped e-commerce growth. Since that launch, e-commerce growth has increased by more than 700 basis points versus the first half of the year, he maintained. Club fulfilled delivery more than doubled in that period, he indicated. Scan & Go sales penetration also has increased, he added, and Sam’s has almost completed the rollout of Just Go exit technology, which eliminates manual receipt checks, across all 600 clubs, such that 70% of Sam’s Club members can now exit without a final stop.
