Warehouse clubs have not been known for quick shopping.
Generally, it’s kind of an event to go to Sam’s Club or Costco. There’s a mystery aspect of it that makes it worth putting a little time in.
You never know what you’re getting until you actually get there, and then there’s the practical part of bulk shopping. Both warehouse clubs generally stock items in fairly large quantities.
Related: Costco puts new gourmet item on its grocery menu
You can’t buy a single toothbrush, but you can buy a pack of six. That keeps prices down and also allows the chains to operate with a very limited inventory.
Plus, neither warehouse club has traditionally operated like a grocery store.
Many grocery stores have 10-item-or-less checkout lanes and understand that some people are just going to pop in and get what they want. With those customers, it makes sense to try and get them to add to their purchase with an impulse buy. That’s why the area near checkout counters has candy, sodas, and other items people might buy without really thinking about the consequences.
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Costco (COST) and Sam’s Club have worked a different way, however. Generally, the two chains put grocery items in the back of the store.
That way, customers have to walk by all sorts of appealing items. You may not have come in planning to buy a winter coat or a giant teddy bear, but it’s possible that if you see either one at a good price, you will buy it.
Walmart’s (WMT) Sam’s Club has a plan to change that model. It’s using new merchandise to change how people shop at its stores.
More stores are offering variations of quick checkout.
Image source: Getty Images
Sam’s Club adds new checkout and merchandise
Sam’s Club has decided to add a new wrinkle to the warehouse club model by adding a faster way to check out, along with merchandise designed for people on the go.
The SamsClubMembers Instagram shared this post:
And you can use Scan & Go too!
I can eat the Mediterranean Pasta Salad allllll day long! I love it when it’s offered in a single-serve size. I split a chicken salad croissant, Mediterranean Pasta Salad and tuxedo slice with my mom, and it was perfect!
OUR TOTAL WAS $9.66!!
These items were added to the cases by the cafe; don’t forget to stop by on your way out of the club.
The new checkout — along with the added merchandise, which focuses heavily on food and beverages — is meant to be an offset to Costco’s food court. Sam’s Club locations have a food court, but they’re not as popular as the ones offered by its chief rival.
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Target, which has remodeled hundreds of stores, has added grab-and-go items near the cash register at some of its stores. It does this in markets where it believes separating out this merchandise and offering it for a quick sale will increase the company’s reach.
Scan & Go is a form of self-checkout that Costco has abandoned.
Sam’s Club evolves its business
Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData’s retail division, commented about the change on RetailWire.
“While a lot of people visit Sam’s Club to buy in bulk, they still have needs in what might be classified as the ‘food for now’ space – those things they buy for immediate or same-day consumption. From our data, Sam’s currently under-indexes in this arena, whereas Costco does pretty well. So it makes sense for Sam’s to round out the range, although it’s never going to be the mainstay of the business,” he shared,
Craig Sundstrom seems less excited about Sam’s Club’s plans.
“I don’t see any harm here, but I don’t see it moving the dial much, either: I doubt it will do the volume of more widespread convenience/grocery stores for the simple reason that there aren’t nearly as many Sam’s Clubs around. As for the mixed messaging, I don’t see some kind of philosophical quandry: while it’s not quite in the category of checkout-line impulse buys, it serves a similar purpose …grabbing a few extra dollars that would otherwise get by,” he posted.
Related: Costco members rush to find new limited product
Doug Garnett also sees this as a waste of time.
“I can’t imagine this being significant to their business. Perhaps the approach is chosen to impress shareholders, who always seem to want new shiny baubles. As for [the] customer? I can’t imagine the grab-and-go makes much difference over simply stocking a good set of quick foods,” he wrote.
