Sam’s Club pilots new Scan & Go app capabilities

Sam’s Club’s Scan & Go offering within its mobile app is adding a new omnichannel functionality. The Bentonville, Ark.-based club retailer is piloting Scan & Ship, a new feature within Scan & Go that allows shoppers to order products from the store to be shipped to their homes.

Sam’s Club said Scan & Ship is designed to offer an in-store solution to buying products that require big vehicles, including playsets, patio furniture, large TVs, grills and more. It also allows consumers to select colors and sizes that might not be sold in the club. 

“We challenge ourselves every day to develop and execute convenient solutions that disrupt the warehouse model and provide additional value to our members,” said Tim Simmons, Sam’s Club senior vice president and chief product officer. “Just like Scan & Go, Scan & Ship gives members greater control of their shopping experience. It’s exciting to see our team develop and launch the Scan & Ship pilot so quickly, and it's got great potential to deliver the ultimate omnichannel member experience across our entire chain.”

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Sam’s Club is piloting Scan & Ship in three locations, including Sam’s Club’s Dallas-based innovation lab dubbed Sam’s Club Now. 

“Scan & Ship is the result of an internal program we’re really proud of called the Innovation Jam, which encourages associates to collaborate and develop prospective retail technology solutions during the two-day, sprint-like event,” said Vinod Bidarkoppa, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Sam’s Club. “Scan & Go has been such a success story for us and Scan & Ship is a fantastic extension to all of the great innovation we already have in place.”

The company said Scan & Ship is part of its efforts to identify new opportunities for its app and evolve its offerings to meet consumer shopping behavior. In 2020, Sam’s Club said the app was downloaded 9.6 million times, according to AppTopia, noting that the number was nearly twice that of competitor apps. Scan & Go was a particularly bright spot in the app, seeing a 43.5% year-over-year adoption rate in its first quarter. 

As it looks to drive adoption of the app, Sam’s Club is debuting a feature in all of its clubs that allows shoppers to demo the Scan & Go feature without having to download the Sam’s Club app. Via instant app software, shoppers can test out Scan & Go, which allows for shoppers to skip the checkout line by paying with Scan & Go. 

“We know that once our members use Scan & Go they love the convenience it provides and are 90% more likely to use it again, so our team worked to design a solution that gives members an opportunity to test drive the feature and experience the benefits firsthand,” Bidarkoppa said.

The demo version of Scan & Go can be used up to three times before users are prompted to download the Sam’s Club app.