Costo and Walmart’s Sam’s Club offer similar shopping experiences and are located in close proximity in many markets.
Both chains are fighting for every possible advantage. Costco offers its Kirkland Signature brand, which may be the most trusted private label brand in the country, but Sam’s Club may actually have cheaper prices.
“In 2023, AARP looked at the prices of 30 similar groceries at each chain and found that in their sample, Sam’s Club groceries were about 18.36% cheaper by weight than Costco. Some of the items they compared included grilled chicken, wild salmon fillets, baked beans, mayonnaise, rice, pasta, eggs, pretzels and orange juice,” TheStreet’s Jeremy Salvucci wrote.
In the same article, he also found that Sam’s Club has another pricing advantage over Costco.
“The two stores’ product lines are sometimes comparable in price, but when they are not, Sam’s Club Signature products are generally cheaper than similar Kirkland Signature products,” he wrote.
Costco and Sam’s Club each have about 600 warehouse membership stores in the United States. Walmart doesn’t report the number of Sam’s Club members, so there’s no way to know which chain has more members.
However, it’s fair to say that every company is striving to provide a better experience than their very similar competitors. You could argue that Sam’s Club’s latest move could give it an edge over Costco.
While Costco has been testing some new checkout experiences to speed up its lines, Sam’s Club has made huge improvements to its checkout service.
Sam’s Club has made significant progress in rolling out technology that solves a major problem for members – waiting in line for receipt verification to exit the club.
The retailer’s first application of artificial intelligence and computer vision technology has been successfully deployed in more than 120 clubs since its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.
Since the update, Sam’s Club has added the technology to all of its U.S. warehouse locations.
“More than half of members in clubs that have deployed the technology receive a frictionless exit experience. This means all members leave the club 23% faster,” the company said in a press release.
Sam’s Club plans to end traditional checkout.Shutter release
Sam’s Club also plans to eliminate traditional checkout lines.
According to Payments Journal, “traditional checkout will be replaced by a system called Scan & Go, which allows members to scan products using the store app and complete purchases directly from their phone.”
This new update adds an artificial intelligence (AI) layer to the checkout process.
“AI scanners authenticate items as customers leave, eliminating the need to check receipts at the door,” the company said. “Because Sam’s Club operates on a subscription model, theft is not as much of a concern as it is at Walmart’s flagship stores.”
If it works, this is a good thing for consumers. Retail Dive cited a retail expert who provided more details in an email to Customer Experience Dive.
If workers have to be involved in the process, it defeats the purpose.
“Most friction points involve excessive interaction with sales associates, and self-checkout is designed to eliminate that,” Aloy added.
Costco has also been working to speed up checkouts, but it’s using a more manual approach.
“Progress has begun and is delivering tangible results. In warehouses, implementing member entrance scanning, Costco Digital Wallet, and pre-scanned small and medium-sized shopping baskets results in a better member experience and increased productivity,” CEO Ron Vachris shared during the chain’s first-quarter earnings call.
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He noted that the results were positive.
“The warehouses that were first to adopt this pre-scan technology experienced 20% faster checkouts. Across our warehouses across the U.S., [we] In the final weeks of the quarter, checkout efficiency reached record levels,” he shared.
I’ve been a Costco member for the better part of the last 30 years, so I absolutely hate it when someone checks my receipt when I leave a store. I don’t like the suggestion that I might be stealing and find the process a bit off-putting.
Also, I don’t like waiting in lines, so any effort to speed up the check-out process is appreciated.
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PYMNTS.com says: “Self-service has become an important retail feature, but good self-service has been more elusive. In recent years, companies have made significant progress in increasing the availability of self-service kiosks and other unattended payment options.”
The payments publication also shared some other key statistics about self-checkout.
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Eighty-four percent of U.S. consumers like self-service kiosk66% of respondents preferred manual checkouts to manned checkouts.
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Eighty-one percent of consumers surveyed said they wanted More self-service options at businesses they frequent.
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Volume alone isn’t enough either, with 36% saying they want smarter unattended payment options.
Self-checkout is becoming a retail standard, according to Capital One Shopping Research, which shares some other facts:
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75.4% of self-checkout machines are installed in retail stores.
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96% of grocery stores Self checkout available.
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Early estimates suggest 10,000 retailers worldwide By 2024, a self-checkout system has been installed.
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Forecasts indicate that by 2030, More than 24,000 stores Self-checkout will be available.
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2023, Delivered 217,000 new self-checkout terminals Global store sales increased 12% compared to 2022.
“North America Self-Checkout System Market Value Estimation US$2.28 billion By 2024; forecasts suggest it will exceed US$5 billion by 2030,” Capital One added.
A survey conducted by NMI shows that consumers want automation, but they also want to see technological advancements.
“Most consumers want more self-service opportunities but also expect a better user experience. When self-service payments work smoothly, they represent a huge convenience – one of the most important factors driving consumer payment choice.
“But when they don’t work, especially in a completely unattended environment where help is not readily available on-site, customers are effectively rendered powerless, resulting in an extremely negative experience,” the study shows.
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This article was originally published by TheStreet on January 2, 2026, and first appeared in the Retail section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.
