Walmart is evaluating a storage facility in Dallas where you can make all your purchases on your phone.
Sam’s Club Now will generally be Walmart’s storage facility variation of an Amazon Go shop. It will be an app-driven variation of a membership-based Sam’s Club where you can utilize your phone to establish wish list, browse the shop and purchase your products.
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You scan items as you pick them up and check out by having a worker scan the code on your phone.
“There won’t be another club like it,” Jamie Iannone, chief executive officer of SamsClub.com, said in a blog post Monday. “It will be a mobile-first shopping experience powered by the new Sam’s Club Now app.”
Smart shopping lists use machine learning and past purchase data to auto-fill members’ shopping lists, updating as you scan items.
A voice-activated navigation feature will let you ask the app where items are, so you don’t have to wander around looking for that giant tub of mayonnaise. The company plans to expand this feature to map out your optimal route through the store.
The augmented reality feature can show you additional information about the item — like where it’s sourced — when you highlight it.
“We also have plans to use augmented reality to transform members’ digital carts into pirate ships,” Iannone said. “Or maybe you’d prefer a rocket? More on that soon!”
The Dallas location will be 32,000 square feet — a quarter the size of an average Sam’s Club — and act as a test site for new tech-based features. It reflects Walmart’s increased efforts to keep up with Amazon. Walmart.com, for example, also plans to add millions of more items to its two-day shipping program for the holiday-shopping season.
Sam’s Club didn’t have an opening date for the store when contacted via email, but suggested keeping an eye on its web page for an announcement.
First published on Oct. 29 at 6:26 a.m. PT.
Updated on Oct. 30 at 7:29 a.m. PT: Adds that opening date is still TBA.