Sam’s Club Opens First New Location in 7 Years— It has No Checkout Lanes

Walmart-owned Sam’s Club has just opened a groundbreaking new store in Grapevine, Texas—the first new location in seven years. Unlike any other store in the chain, this one features cutting-edge technology and ditches traditional checkout lanes completely.

The new Grapevine Sam’s Club, which opened on October 17, is unlike any you’ve been to. It has no register and will use cutting-edge tech for a different, modern shopping experience. CEO Chris Nicholas says this digital-focused model is part of the company’s ambitious expansion plan through 2030.

In December 2022, a tornado hit the Dallas area and damaged several buildings, including the Grapevine Sam’s Club store. The original plan was to close the store permanently, but with Sam’s Club planning to open 30 new locations, the company decided to rebuild it and use it as the blueprint for their new checkout-free stores.

Gone are the days of standing in checkout lines—customers now use the Scan & Go app to scan items, pay on their phones, and walk out through AI-powered gates that verify their purchases. The space where the registers used to be is now a showroom featuring high-end products like Mercedes-Benz SUV, which you can buy just by scanning a QR code. 

The 150,000-square-foot hub will also feature floor scrubbers that monitor inventory, AI-powered systems to track purchases, robots that can churn out over 100 pizzas an hour, and an approximately 6,000-square feet section dedicated to getting online orders ready for fulfillment via either pickup or delivery.

CEO Chris Nicholas told Business Insider that this store would be a "test bed" for new ideas that could shape Sam’s Club's future. The company hopes to apply more innovations to other locations nationwide by experimenting with digital tools and modern conveniences here.