4 Sam’s Club Shopping Changes Happening This Month
Even if they don’t have the hotdog combo meal deal of the century, Sam’s Club offers plenty of enticing membership perks, along with a wide range of products on the shelves. Still, the store is constantly striving to improve itself and give customers more of what they want. Read on for some of the latest big shopping changes coming to Sam’s Club this month.
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1. They’re expanding their pharmacy services.
Being able to pick up your prescriptions without making an extra stop is always an added bonus. But if you’re a Sam’s Club member, you’ll soon be able to take advantage of a couple of new offerings on top of refilling your medications.
This year, the warehouse retailer’s in-house pharmacy rolled out an improved curbside pickup program, debuted free same-day delivery for Sam’s Club Plus members, and began offering pet health insurance programs, Modern Retail reports.
The latest partnership with Spot Pet Insurance is a prime example of this, granting access to discounted plans for members and granting access to over 110 animal prescriptions that all cost $80 or less. It also provides free essential preventative tick and flea care for cats, as well as free preventative heartworm medications to both cats and dogs.
The store also simplified its scheduled curbside pickup program, allowing shoppers to set the offering as their default option instead of having to communicate that directly to the store pharmacy.
And, perhaps the biggest of all, Sam’s Club just announced that it’s extending its same-day pharmacy delivery to refrigerated medications—including weight-loss drugs, insulin, and antibiotics—as Supermarket News reported.
2. Sam’s Club is sprucing up its in-store sushi.
Being able to grab delicious, ready-made food is just one of the perks of Sam’s Club membership. Now, you’ll have another option when you’re shopping for your next meal.
Last month, the retailer said it would be bringing its in-store sushi offerings under its Member’s Mark brand, Progressive Grocer reports. Besides using trained chefs to produce the rolls on-site, the company is also relying on local trends to help drive its menu selections and specials.
Part of the new launch includes the addition of the Nara Tray, which is a 40-piece party tray with a vegetarian tempura roll, dragon roll, California crunch roll, and spicy tuna mango roll for just $25. In the coming months, Sam’s Club will also remodel its sushi kiosks along with the back-of-house improvements.
“This transition is about putting members first,” Alex Hardy, senior director of merchandising at Sam’s Club, told Progressive Grocer. “We are delivering the freshness, flavor, and quality in sushi that members deserve, every day in our clubs.”
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3. Sam’s Club is revamping its diapers.
It’s not just food that’s getting the house brand glow up, either. Last month, Sam’s Club announced the release of new and improved Member’s Mark diapers to stores nationwide, per a press release from the company.
Representatives for Sam’s Club say the retailer took customer input when reformulating the essential childcare product. The latest formulation provides up to 12 hours of absorbent protection, a softer feel, and the addition of fun designs. The diapers are also made from carefully curated, safe ingredients and are hypoallergenic.
The best part? The single-use items are also made with eco-friendly ingredients (including sustainably sourced pulp) and are packaged in 100 percent recycled packaging.
4. Sam’s Club is incorporating AI into its operations.
The advent of AI has changed a lot about day-to-day life in a relatively short amount of time, including how we shop. Now, Sam’s Club is the latest company to use the burgeoning tech to aid in its operations.
In a recent blog post, the company says it adopted enterprise-grade ChatGPT tools to help local managers streamline work and improve offerings. Besides reduced time on repetitive operational tasks, the technology has also helped some store associates connect directly with more local products and their suppliers. Other helpful tasks include improved item selection for seasonal sales, as well as effective staffing requirements for busy hours during these promotions.
Sam’s Club isn’t the first retailer to fold AI into its day-to-day operations. Lowe’s also recently announced it was using the technology to help configure item placement in stores and highlight trending items.