Costo’s Sam’s Club and Walmart offer similar shopping experiences and, in many markets, are located close to each other.
Both chains fight for every possible advantage. Costco offers its Kirkland Signature brand, which may be the most trusted house brand in the country, but Sam’s Club may actually have lower prices.
“In 2023, AARP investigated the prices of 30 comparable grocery items at each chain and found that, in their sample, groceries at Sam’s Club are about 18.36% cheaper than those at Costco by weight. Some of the items they compared included rotisserie chicken, wild salmon filets, baked beans, mayo, rice and rice, pasta, pasta, “egg, orange, juice, pretzels” TheStreet’s Jeremy Salvucci.
In the same article, he also found that Sam’s Club has another price advantage over Costco.
“The product lines of the two stores are sometimes comparable in price, but when they are not, Sam’s Club’s Member’s Mark products are generally cheaper than their Kirkland Signature counterparts,” he wrote.
Costco and Sam’s Club each have about 600 store clubs in the United States. Walmart doesn’t report Sam’s Club membership numbers, so it’s impossible to know which chain has more members.
It’s safe to say, however, that each company works hard to offer a better experience than its very similar rivals. Sam’s Club’s latest move, you could argue, could give it an edge over Costco.
While Costco has been testing some new checkout experiences that will speed up its lines, Sam’s Club has already made major improvements to its checkout offering.
Sam’s Club has made significant progress in rolling out technology that solves a key member concern – 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 unveiling at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.
Since the update, Sam’s Club has added the technology to all US store locations.
“In the clubs where the technology has been deployed, more than half of the members are having a frictionless checkout experience. This means that all members leave the club 23% faster,” the company said in a press release.
Sam’s Club also plans to eliminate traditional checkout lines.
“Traditional checkouts will be replaced with a system known as Scan & Go, which allows members to scan products with the store’s app and complete their purchases directly from their phones,” according to Payments Journal.
This new update adds a layer of artificial intelligence (AI) to the checkout process.
“An AI scanner verifies items as customers leave, eliminating the need for receipt checks at the door. Since Sam’s Club operates under a subscription model, theft is not as much of a concern as it would be at a Walmart flagship store,” the company shared.
That’s good for consumers – if it works. One retail expert offered more detail in an email to Customer Experience Dive, cited by Retail Dive.
It defeats the purpose if a worker has to get involved in the process.
“Many of these friction points involve excessive interaction with a sales employee, which is what self-checkouts are designed to remove,” Alloy added.
Costco has also been working to speed up its checkout, but is using a more manual approach.
“Progress has already begun and is yielding tangible results. In-store, the implementation of membership scanning at entry, the Costco digital wallet, and pre-scanning of small and medium-sized bags is leading to a better member experience and improved productivity,” CEO Ron Vachris said during the chain’s first-quarter earnings call.
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The results, he noted, were positive.
“Stores that first adopted this pre-scan technology have shown checkout speed improvements of up to 20%. And across our US stores in general, [we] achieved record levels of checkout productivity in the final weeks of the quarter,” he said.
Having been a Costco member for most of the last 30 years, I absolutely hate having someone check my receipt as I leave the store. I do not enjoy the implication that I may be stealing and find the process somewhat offensive.
Also, I don’t enjoy waiting in line, so any effort to speed up the check-in process is appreciated.
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“Self-service has become an essential feature of retail, but good self-service is more elusive. Companies have made significant strides in recent years to increase the availability of self-service kiosks and other unattended payment options,” according to PYMNTS.com.
The payments publication also shared some other key self-checkout statistics.
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Eighty-four percent of American consumers enjoy self-service kioskswith 66% preferring them to staffed checkouts.
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Eighty-one percent of consumers surveyed said they would more self-service options in the businesses they frequent.
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Quantity alone isn’t enough, either, as 36% said they want smarter payment options for themselves.
Self-checkout is becoming a retail standard, according to data from Capital One’s Shopping Research, which shared some other facts:
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75.4% of self-checkout kiosks are installed in retail stores.
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96% of grocery stores offer self-checkout.
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Early estimates indicate that 10,000 global retailers install self-checkout systems from 2024.
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Projections indicate that by 2030, more than 24,000 stores will offer self-checkout.
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In 2023, 217,000 new self-checkout terminals were delivered for stores globally, a 12% increase from 2022.
“The market for self-checkout systems in North America is valuable $2.28 billion from 2024; projections indicate that it will exceed $5 billion by 2030,” Capital One added.
Consumers want automation, but they also want to see technology improve, according to a survey conducted by NMI.
“The majority of consumers want more self-service opportunities, but they also expect a better user experience. When self-serve payments work smoothly, they represent extreme convenience – one of the most important factors driving the consumer’s payment choice.
“But, when they don’t work, especially in completely unattended environments without readily available on-site help, the customer is effectively left powerless, creating an extremely negative experience,” the study showed.
Related: Costco updates member benefits amid slowing growth
This story was originally published by TheStreet on January 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.