Walmart expands mobile checkout (WMT)

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August 11, 2017 4:50 PM

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Walmart expanded its “Scan and Go” pilot program, which lets customers scan products’ barcodes through a smartphone app as they add items to their carts, to 10 new stores throughout Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Texas, reports Drug Store News.

This nearly doubles the number of Walmart locations trialing the feature, from 12 beforehand — potentially signaling positive early results.

Scan and Go adds some convenience to the checkout — but Walmart can go further to match the competition.

Walmart stands to benefit from shaking up the checkout.
However, Scan and Go is not without friction.
Amazon's system aims to eradicate payments altogether.

Execution, not vision, may determine the winner. This is Walmart’s second attempt to release the shopping technology, after the first shot fizzled out three years ago. Furthermore, Fortune reported in March that Amazon’s solution can only handle up to 20 shoppers at a time. While Walmart’s solution is not as disruptive as Amazon’s, there’s no guarantee the latter will work from a technical perspective any time soon. The wisdom of Walmart’s more conservative checkout enhancement will hinge on whether it successfully scales before Amazon.

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