At Sam’s Club, a Human Will No Longer Check Your Receipt at the Door

Buying things in bulk at wholesale retailers can be an all-day affair. Sam’s Club, the store chain owned by Walmart, is trying to make that time shorter: by using artificial intelligence to scan shoppers’ carts so they no longer have to show a receipt at the exit upon checking out.

“Eliminating even the few seconds it takes to scan a receipt at the exit door is well worth it,” Megan Crozier, an executive vice president at Walmart, announced onstage this week at the company’s presentation for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

It has long been common practice at stores where bulk items are sold — like Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club — for store employees to check customer receipts at the exit. But this has also led to accusations of racial bias, with some customers saying they were subject to more thorough checks than other shoppers.

At some retailers, like Sam’s Club and Costco, showing a receipt has long been mandatory for everyone leaving the store.