Sam's Club Beats Costco in Customer Satisfaction

Feb 05, 2025 • 10 min read

Sam’s Club Leads the Pack With AI Exit Checkout, Boosting Customer Satisfaction

New technology aims to slash wait times and transform the “checkout at the door” experience

In a retail landscape where advanced tech can make or break a store’s image, Sam’s Club has taken a bold step: rolling out a full-scale AI-driven checkout at exit—the first retailer to do so on a nationwide level. The move comes as Sam’s Club has soared above rival Costco in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), signaling that consumers reward retailers willing to invest in cutting-edge convenience.

A Game-Changer at the Exit For decades, warehouse clubs have insisted on “checking receipts at the door” to deter theft and confirm purchases. But even in well-run locations, members often endure slow lines as employees manually scan each receipt and peek into carts. Sam’s Club’s new system replaces that bottleneck with AI-powered sensors that read purchases and confirm a shopper’s bill in seconds—no more stopping for a team member to tick off every item.

“We’ve seen friction points vanish almost overnight,” says Chris Nicholas, CEO of Sam’s Club. “This tech isn’t just about security; it’s about giving members a seamless ending to their trip. It’s the difference between leaving on a high note or getting stuck in line.” According to internal pilot data Nicholas shared, AI exit technology has shaved up to 40% off average wait times, dramatically improving the store’s perceived convenience.

Why AI at the Exit Matters At many warehouse clubs, exit checks were the last barrier to a frictionless shopping experience, especially after self-checkout, curbside pickup, and smartphone-based “scan and pay” overcame other common pain points. Customers breezing through the aisles would then hit a queue at the door, negating much of the speed they had just gained. Sam’s Club leadership saw that as a major opportunity.

“It’s the final ten yards of the in-store journey,” explains Forrest Morgeson, Director of Research Emeritus for the American Customer Satisfaction Index. “If a shopper breezes through the aisles, pays via mobile, and then gets stuck in a door-check line, all the magic disappears. By automating or accelerating that last step, Sam’s Club closes the loop in a customer-friendly way.”

ACSI Bump Signals Approval Sam’s Club’s strong embrace of technology has nudged its ACSI score to 85—four points above last year’s result and three points ahead of longtime sector leader Costco. Morgeson believes the AI exit rollout is a significant driver of that jump, supplementing earlier successes with the chain’s “Scan & Go” mobile checkout system. “We’re noticing a direct correlation between frictionless technologies and overall satisfaction,” he notes. “This new exit process is just one more moment where Sam’s Club is removing stress.”

Customer anecdotes reinforce that analysis. “It used to be you’d wait five minutes at the door when the store was busy,” says James Marshall, a Sam’s Club member in Ohio. “Now you pretty much walk up, pause briefly, and you’re done. It makes me feel like they respect my time.”

How the System Works Though Sam’s Club is cagey about the specific tech details, insiders reveal that ceiling-mounted cameras and sensors track cart contents once the shopper completes their app-based or kiosk checkout. If the AI system flags a discrepancy—like an unscanned large item—the member is politely asked to step aside for a manual check. The chain claims that fewer than 2% of purchases trigger extra scrutiny, and “in most cases it’s just the system double-verifying something large or oddly shaped,” one employee remarks.

Cost Savings Versus Implementation Costs Of course, deploying an AI solution at scale isn’t cheap. Sam’s Club has reportedly invested millions in upgraded surveillance, servers, and real-time data processing. Yet store managers say the initial capital outlay will pay off by freeing staff from door-check drudgery. According to pilot store data, staff allocated to receipt-checking dropped by 50% within two weeks of the technology’s launch. Those employees could shift to higher-value tasks like restocking, customer service, or online order fulfillment.

Meanwhile, the chain hopes to reduce shrink as AI flags unscanned or wrongly scanned items more consistently than human checkers. A 2024 RBC Capital Markets study suggests that advanced theft-detection methods like these could cut shrink by 15–25% compared to manual checks, making the investment look even more appealing.

What It Means for the Future Sam’s Club’s success with AI exit checks could spur a new wave of tech adoption across big-box and warehouse retailers. Costco, for instance, has begun introducing ID scanners at the entrance, but has yet to replicate Sam’s Club’s automated approach at the exit. While Costco’s membership loyalty runs deep, the mounting evidence that Sam’s Club’s frictionless tech resonates with younger, tech-savvy customers is a wake-up call.

“People are tired of lines,” says Morgeson. “When the entire store experience is digitized, from scanning items in-aisle to paying on your phone, it makes little sense to end with a manual door check. Sam’s Club is rethinking the process from start to finish.”

As Amazon Go’s full-scale cashierless ambitions continue to develop in limited bursts, Sam’s Club’s AI checkout might be the more pragmatic model for large-format retail. If the chain’s positive customer-satisfaction results endure, competitors have little choice but to respond, perhaps hastening a broader transformation in how we exit stores. In a fiercely competitive retail climate, every minute saved and every annoyance removed can shape whether a shopper stays loyal or drifts elsewhere.

All told, Sam’s Club’s new exit tech underscores a broader lesson: that the final moments of a shopping journey can be as critical as the first impressions. For now, the cutting-edge approach seems to be paying dividends, both in consumer enthusiasm and in the polls that rank the most satisfying places to shop.