Amazon may scale back its AI-powered “Just Walk Out” no-checkout technology in its stores in favor of smart shopping carts, but Walmart's Sam's Club plans to roll out its fast exit technology in favor of smart shopping carts. He says he is turning to AI to help make the world a better place. Instead of requiring store staff to check members' purchases against their receipts when they leave the store, Sam's Club customers who pay through the register or their Scan&Go mobile app can check their purchases without being double-checked. You can now leave the store.
The technology was first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and is now installed in more than 120 clubs across the United States, representing 20% of Sam's Club locations. Since its introduction, the company claims members are leaving stores 23% faster, significantly speeding up store exits. The company plans to expand the technology to all stores by the end of the year.
The system works with a combination of computer vision and digital technology to capture an image of a customer's cart and confirm payment for the items in the basket. Sam's Club says that AI is used in the background to speed up the process. The AI also learns and improves over time as thousands of exit transactions across multiple locations are analyzed.
Before this technology was introduced, Sam's Club members had to line up at the store exit to wait for their receipts to be verified. The new solution will help store staff run smoothly, freeing them up to focus on other tasks.
The company also subtly attacked rival Amazon in announcing this expansion, saying that “other retailers have struggled to deploy similar technology at scale and have abandoned some efforts.” He pointed out that his company's technology had emerged. This clearly signals Amazon's retreat from Just Walk Out. Additionally, Amazon has had to fend off criticism that its AI technology relies on human workers to review transactions. Amazon said machine learning is powering its technology, and contractors are simply annotating shopping data with AI to improve the system.